Standards Development

Scope

The scope of this proposal is to standardize an effective sensory vessel for evaluating alcohol beverages by (1) separating, diffusing and diverting nose-numbing ethanol aromas away from the nose to prevent nose-numbing, ethanol anaesthesia (also called olfactory fatigue, and nose-blindness), and (2) separate and display all aromas in a predictable manner without ethanol numbing for easy detection.

Purpose

Existing issues with commonly used nosing and tasting apparati:

No separation of ethanol from character aromas quickly numbs the olfactory receptors with anaesthetic ethanol, affecting aroma detection without warning. Most vessels are tulip or snifter shape (convergent rim) which collect and concentrate ethanol at the rim where nosing occurs, forcing the evaluator to sniff large quantities of ethanol while trying to detect character aromas. The proposed apparatus eliminates ethanol anaesthesia, prolongs evaluation time, and displays more aromas at higher intensities for detection and evaluation. Associated problems in various areas due to ethanol concentration are listed below with resolutions.

Problems resolved by the proposed standard and apparatus: Spirits Blenders do not need to dilute to avoid ethanol anaesthesia. Dilution changes aroma profile Spirits Educators can abandon cumbersome inconsistent evaluation procedures presently used to avoid ethanol anaesthesia, better detection of aromas will enhance education by promoting more discussion of the spirits particular attributes

Distillers improve quality and reduce waste and cost through more informed cuts (fore-shots and feints) thru better detection, subtle aroma detection will open up niche markets for new products Spirits Judging Events avoid ethanol anaesthesia, reduces olfactory recovery times, improve evaluation quality, improve aroma detectability, improve event-to-event ratings consistency, decrease judge-tojudge variability and improves judge-to-judge rating consistency, equalizes the entrants opportunity for a fair and impartial rating

Evaluators and Judges avoid ethanol anaesthesia rampant in multiple sample evaluations, improve detectable aromas, increase aroma intensity, improve quality evaluation, decrease judge-to-judge variability, improves judge-to-judge agreement and consensus, significantly decreases nose-numbing ethanol, eliminates auto-adaptation to past memory tasting experiences

Gender Inequity is avoided by dissipating ethanol, more sensitive female noses are not compromised by sometimes painful concentrated ethanol, male dominated spirits clubs and associations can attract higher female membership with a gender friendly vessel

Consumers get more reliable and consistent information for both collector and value buying decisions, several sources of information will be more consistent in ratings, aiding consumer decisions, consumers will discover niche markets for subtle flavour combinations, since the proposed apparatus does not require water dilution to reduce volatile ethanol, the consumer and blenders who use it can experience the same aroma profile, more consumers, including a higher percentage of female spirits drinkers enjoy a more intense aromas without ethanol, and avoid distractive ethanol aromas masking subtleties

Achievable but as yet unrealized long term social benefits: Longer term benefits supported by the adoption of the proposal include an improvement in gender equity in clubs, associations, and industry taste evaluators and educators can be achieved by adopting a standard that is friendly to the more sensitive female nose which is more averse to ethanol than the male olfactory: ratings from different sources will be more consistent as a single universal ISO standard is adopted, leading to improved consumer knowledge and buying decisions; education on spirits nosing and tasting is simplified by the elimination of inconsistent procedural aids used to reduce ethanol anaesthesia with commonly used vessels; spirits quality will improve as evaluators, blenders, and distillers use the proposed vessel to detect flaws, improve blending and perform accurate head and tail cuts. More detailed description of problems may be found in Purpose and Justification Details - Annex 1 to this Form 4.

Verified marketing need for apparatus and standard:

Over 24 major spirits competitions have used the apparatus for over 140 total events as their official nosing and tasting glass. See List of Official Spirits Judging Events - Annex 2 to this Form 4.

Consumers and end-users account for over 97% of sales of the apparatus since 2012. The apparatus is carried in major chains, liquor stores and sold on various sites in Amazon. Many restaurants, spirits bars, and cigar shops use the apparatus for serving spirits, and market and the apparatus has been the subject of many favourable reviews and endorsements by key figures in the spirits industry See website with testimonials, spirits competitions, and educators who use the apparatus at www. theneatglass.com.

Value to the end user is discussed under Problems Resolved (above), Consumer.

Peer reviewed journal paper describing the engineering, physical science application and developmental sensory studies initially presented at ISO subcommittee meeting in York England, UK on July 24, 2019. This paper summarizes the engineering and sensory development of the proposal from 2002 to present, and can be found for further detailed review at MDPI Journal – Beverages https: //www.mdpi.com/2306-5710/4/4/93

Independent Sensory Study completed at the request of the committee at York meeting is presented as Independent Sensory Study Annex 3 to this Form 4. The study encompassed three different spirits nosing glass, including the two most commonly used in evaluations vs the proposed apparatus and were performed with spirits from three different sources, including a spirit made from grain (barley), a spirit made from fruit (grape) and a spirit made from agave. The first two were barrel aged to add different compounds to the aroma, and the agave used was non-aged to evaluate aromas of a spirit without the influence of barrel sourced compounds. Sensation Research of Mason, Ohio, USA conducted the study in September 2019 Proposed

Procedure for Sensory analysis – Apparatus – Alcohol beverage spirits nosing and tasting glass Annex 4 to this Form 4

Letters of Attestation describing in-use experiences and recommendations from Major Spirits Competitions and the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers Association can be found in Letters of Attestation Annex 5 to this Form 4

Further support letters from the following countries and addressed to the sensory standards organizations are available from the secretary of the committee as sent to the committee on July 15 -25, from USA, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, France, Slovakia, South Africa, Canada, United Kingdom, prior to the meeting at York, England July 2019.