The Perfect Cocktail: Rum And Radiation

Researchers in Brazil claim to have found a faster way to age the national drink - zap it with gamma radiation for a few minutes rather than let it sit in barrels.

This supercharged version of cachaca, a spirit similar to rum, carries with it no radiation risk, said Valter Artur of the Nuclear Energy Center at the University of Sao Paolo.

"Tests have shown this cachaca can be consumed right after it is irradiated," Mr Artur was quoted as saying in the Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper.

So far the technique has only been used in university labs.

The gamma rays ionise the cachaca and this speeds up chemical reactions that take place naturally during the ageing process, he explained.

But ageing the spirit this way would be expensive to do on an industrial scale because each radiation machine costs around £2.2m.

Cachaca expert Jairo Martins da Silva criticised the technique, saying the irradiated alcohol had "room for improvement".

"I think there is no substitute for ageing it in barrels," he insisted.

Cachaca is typically up to 48% alcohol by volume.

The major difference between cachaca and rum is that rum is usually made from molasses, a by-product from refineries that boil the sugarcane juice to extract as much sugar crystal as possible.

Cachaca is made from fresh sugarcane juice that is fermented and distilled.

As some rums are also made by this process, cachaca is also known as Brazilian rum.