Researchers at Japan's Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, announced that they have discovered a technique to make a drinkable alcoholic beverage from wood.

Alcohol has been procured from wood before but its use is restricted to fuel, due to the fact that its not only flavourless, but also contains toxic substances. The alcohol produced by this new technique is the world’s first wood alcohol that should be suitable for consumption. If they can confirm that the drink can be drunk safely, the researchers hope to see the new alcohol on sale to the general public within 3 years.

Apparently the beverage has a ‘woody’ taste (unsurprisingly), similar to drinks which have been aged in a wood barrel. It comes out of the fermentation process at about 15% alcohol content.

They’ve produced the hard stuff from cedar, birch, and cherry trees so far, meaning in the near future we could be enjoying a hanami drink made from the cherry blossom tree itself!