Encryption Comes to Fine Whiskey

Note: This is a blog post I wrote for a client in Estonia. They make a really amazing encryption solution. I have links to their offering in the article. So, you will notice mentions of them towards the end.

With privacy being top of mind these days due to the never-ending parade of hacks and data abuse, it is not surprising to see encryption showing up in unusual places. However, one place I would not have thought to find encryption is in fine Scotch whiskey. Well, you can add Glenlivet to the list with the release of their single malt whiskey bearing the name, “Cipher.”

How do you encrypt a single malt? Before we get into that, let’s grab a quick definition of “cipher.” A cipher is a secret or disguised way of writing; i.e., a code. And that is precisely what encryption does at its most fundamental level; it disguises information by recreating it in a code that only select people can read.

Now to Glenlivet’s Cipher. Most distillers advertise and promote their offerings with a wide array of superlatives. They provide tasting notes, extol specific flavors, and describe how the beverage feels in the mouth. In the world of Scotch whiskey, smokiness, peat, and other aromas are frequently featured in efforts to appeal to potential customers without the necessity of tasting it first.

Glenlivet leaves all this out of their promotional efforts. There are no tasting notes, no text telling you what flavors and aromas to expect. They sell the whiskey with a plain label, bearing all legally required information, of course.

So how is this encryption? Okay, it isn’t encryption in the sense of how CRIP.TO protects your data, privacy, and anonymity. In our case, the data is disguised and protected by a very elaborate cipher, our custom blend of algorithms. Compare that to Glenlivet’s blend of ingredients, also secret. The only way to read the data is to decrypt it. And for that, you need a key.

Glenlivet’s decryption key is your sense of taste. The “data” of how their Cipher product tastes is locked in the bottle until you buy it, pour a dram, and decrypt it through a tasting. Now you have your own experience, totally uninfluenced by marketing. Do you gravitate to an earthy, peaty range? Is it more on the smoky end of things? It’s up to you and your individual tastes.

The beauty is not having to try and taste whatever the manufacturer is marketing. Evidently, my taste buds are not that refined. I rarely, if ever, get all the subtleties that are advertised. But that is okay with me. It boils down to this, I like it, or I don’t.

Glenlivet Cipher has broken new ground with the world’s first encrypted Scotch. And everyone has a unique key to unlock its secrets. 

To learn more about how CRIP.TO uses its custom blend of hardware, software, and services give users the freedom to communicate fearlessly, check out our website. Communicate fearlessly and drink responsibly.