The news and blogosphere has been buzzing (pardon the pun) about a new spray that gets you instantaneously drunk created by Philippe Stark and creator of culinary aerosols, David Edwards of Le Laboratoire (and the man behind Aeroshots).
The product, WA|HH Quantum Sensations, is two flavored (Flash and Demon) mini sprays in cartridges which hold 2 milliliters of liquid. When sprayed, they deliver 20-25 actuations that provide an effect equivalent to a volume 1000 times its amount. WA|HH Quantum Sensations can be enjoyed as a spray directly into the mouth or onto foods of all kinds.
But the kids clamoring to find the product online (as witnessed by the numerous requests on their Facebook page) will be disappointed to learn that the effect only lasts a second and wears off immediately. The idea is to experience the sensorial pleasure much like an emotion. All that lingers is taste and a memory of the sensation.
“What happens with the WA|HH? I take my WA|HH and with a single spray I feel a touch of euphoria thanks to an infinitesimal dose, a thousand times less than a glass of alcohol. The WA|HH is a modern and intelligent alternative aligned with our own evolution, as one of the clear signs of part of the intelligent human production is dematerialization”. -- Philippe Starck
above left: Philippe Starck and above right, David Edwards
“WAHH Quantum Sensations contains in each quantum of flavor just 2 ml of liquid, and yet produces 20-25 actuations of vaporous sensation. It’s 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”. -- David Edwards
At the conclusion of its 14th experiment, Le Laboratoire presents the exhibition WA|HH, dedicated to the new mini spray of flavor WA|HH Quantum Sensations invented by Philippe Starck and David Edwards. An invitation to experience an explosion of culinary sensation in the smallest imaginable form.
At the origin of the experiment: an encounter. That of Philippe Starck, creator of international renown and David Edwards, founder of Le Laboratoire, Harvard Professor, and creator of the new field of aerosol cuisine. Their commonality? The re-invention of daily experience. Their exploratory ground? The immateriality of taste and texture. From their encounter comes WA|HH Quantum Sensations, a mini spray of flavor that, while extremely small (each cartridge holds 2 milliliters of liquid), delivers 20-25 actuations that provide a gustatory and olfactive effect equivalent to a volume 1000 times as voluminous. WA|HH Quantum Sensations can be enjoyed as a spray directly into the mouth or onto foods of all kinds.
The Briefest Light-Headedness
Imagine the possibility of enjoying the pleasure of alcohol without worrying about negative consequences, to have the sensation of light-headedness, without the risk of losing your senses, not to say utter drunkenness. To have the sensorial pleasure of alcohol without posing a threat to your health. This is the potential of WA|HH Quantum Sensations. The capacity to liberate alcohol flavors and transient vapor with minute quantities of alcohol in the form of tiny micro-particles*. The vapor from a single actuation produces a slight light-headedness, but it passes almost immediately. Taste and memory of an intense sensation remain. The quantity of alcohol that enters the body, what we call a quantum, is so small that the effects of WA|HH Quantum Sensations are transient, like an emotion.
WA|HH Flash Quantum
Above: When freshness offers itself as a revivifying breath, the taste buds reanimate our senses. WA|HH Flash Quantum offers a tonic flavor for a strong and instantaneous sensation. Vaporized directly the mouth, the flavors are freed on the pallet and leave a invigorating and immediate impression. Surprise guaranteed.
WA|HH Demon Quantum
above: Spice up your life? Give an instant sting for a moment of dazzling pleasure? WA|HH Demon Quantum wakes the senses up and kindles the spirit. With its spicy, wooded and slightly fruity flavors, WA|HH Demon Quantum guarantees a surprising feeling of euphoria. Ideal to vaporize on salty or sweet foods alike, WA|HH Demon Quantum offers a truly sensory exploration.
A Sensorial Exploration
Among the videos, images and scientific explanations, the exhibition of the two first flavors of the series, WA|HH Flash Quantum and WA|HH Demon Quantum, invite the visitor to powerful and distinctive sensations. Tested by spraying directly into the mouth or onto sweet and salty bites of food (to experience in the Showroom or at the Ephemeral Bar), the surprise is gripping. As Philippe Starck says - “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. The consequences are too familiar. With David Edwards, we asked ourselves whether we might provide the same agreeable sensation as comes with a sip of alcohol without running the risk of drunkenness. And WA|HH was born. Accent life with a magic wand, that was our desire. A spray of WA|HH and the shock is immediate, like a sensorial alarm”.
* An actuation delivers approximately 0.075 ml of alcohol liquid in the form of micro particles. This ‘quantum of alcohol’ is far too small to stimulate drunkenness, being nearly 1000 times smaller than a shot of alcohol (a shot contains approximately 40-60 ml). It would therefore take several hundreds of actuations of WAHH Quantum Sensations to deliver the alcohol content to the body of a standard glass of alcohol.
photos courtesy of Le Laboratoire and AFP PHOTO/Franck Fife
You can try it at the Food Lab in Paris