A professor who has previously created chocolate and coffee aerosols has teamed up with designer Philippe Starck, and turned his micro-particle spraying science to booze. The WAHH Quantum Sensations spray delivers approximately 0.075 ml of alcohol liquid in the form of micro-particles and reportedly simulates the sensorial pleasure of alcohol, giving the user a brief moment of light-headedness and distraction.
Harvard professor David Edwards came up with the idea of using his micro-particle spraying technology to distribute alcohol after meeting with Philippe Starck and discussing the possibility of recreating the positive sensations associated with drinking – but without the drunkenness and negative health implications. The result is a spray which contains tiny amounts of alcohol, that can be sprayed directly into the mouth or onto food.
Each WAHH Quantum Sensations spray holds two milliliters of liquid and delivers 20-25 actuations which include 0.075 ml of alcohol in the form of micro-particles. When sprayed into the mouth this is said to produce a slight light-headedness which passes almost immediately, leaving users with the taste and memory of an intense sensation. The aim was to provide the same agreeable sensation as comes with a sip of alcohol, but without the risk of becoming drunk.
"Everyone has an occasional need of light-headedness, distraction, and another place … but our societies and codes of amusement have led to the over-consumption of alcoholic beverages as a kind of social placebo," said Philippe Starck.
Because each spray of the device contains nearly 1,000 times less alcohol than a standard shot, it's said it would take hundreds of actuations to deliver the alcohol content found in a typical drink. But while some reports have claimed WAHH Quantum Sensations spray actually gets users drunk for a few seconds before they sober up just as fast, the team behind it is keen to stress this is not actually the case.
A spokesperson told Gizmag: "WAHH does not stimulate drunkenness. It is precisely to avoid drunkenness. It stimulates the pleasure of alcohol without the alcohol. There is almost no alcohol in the product, yet the aerosol gives an instantaneous lightheadedness, slight, not disorienting, and is intended for anything but the experience of being drunk" ... all of which we think means you won't have the urge to tell your best mate exactly why you love him so much or struggle to get the key in the door.
There are two types of WAHH Quantum Sensations spray – the Flash, which offers a tonic flavor and a strong and instantaneous sensation, and the Demon, which is described as having a spicy, wooded and slightly fruity flavor and said to be best served vaporized on salty or sweet foods. In describing WAHH Quantum Sensations, David Edwards said, "Its ability to deliver flavor with each actuation that grows in intensity with the vapor cloud of millions of tiny micro-droplets makes WAHH an exciting food spray for the future."
WAHH Quantum Sensations can currently be sampled at the "Experience 14 WA|HH by S+ARCK + EDWARDS" exhibition at Le Laboratoire in Paris – but will soon go on sale in Europe for €20 (about US$26).
Source: Lelaboratoire
