Spilled coffee forms a ring as the liquid evaporates,
depositing solids along the edge of the puddle. This “coffee ring
effect” has fascinated scientists for decades, but now a team says
they have uncovered the mechanism behind an even more striking,
web-like pattern that forms when drops of American whiskey dry up.
The results, reported in ACS Nano, suggest that these distinctive
‘whiskey webs’ could someday be used to identify counterfeit
spirits.

