Reactory proving that chemistry, not time, holds the secret to great spirits
From a makeshift lab in a garage in Auckland, a quiet revolution in spirits distillation began taking shape. It started, as many breakthroughs do, with a simple frustration. Mark Eltom, a Canadian-born chemist and founder of deep-tech startup Reactory, was tired of watching his favourite whiskey climb beyond reach in price. Rather than complain he built a machine that could replicate years of barrel ageing in a fraction of the time.
The first prototype wasn’t much to look at. “It basically lived inside a garbage bin,” Eltom laughs when recalling those early days. But when he and a few friends first tasted the liquid from that experimental reactor, the moment was transformative. “We just looked at each other and thought, ‘This is actually good. This works!’”
From that crude experiment grew Reactory, a company now in trials with some of the world’s largest spirits producers to bring modern science into one of humanity’s oldest crafts.
At its heart, Reactory’s technology accelerates the natural chemical processes that transform raw distillate into mature, complex spirits. Traditionally, the transformation takes years in oak barrels, tying up inventory, space, and capital.
Reactory’s proprietary reactors do it in days or weeks, with results that consistently win blind tastings against traditionally aged products. In nearly a thousand such tests, Eltom says Reactory’s samples have prevailed roughly 90 percent of the time.
That success has earned the Kiwi startup a pilot partnership in Europe with one of the world’s largest spirits companies.
But Eltom is careful to point out that this isn’t about undermining tradition but understanding and improving it. “People forget that the spirits industry wasn’t born out of luxury,” he says. “It was built by moonshiners, rum-runners and mad scientists. The whole thing started as experimentation. We’re just continuing that legacy.”
To Eltom, the romance of age statements and oak casks is only part of the story. “Of all the whisky made in Scotland, only about 10 percent ends up in bottles that say ‘single malt’ on the label,” he explains. “And only around five percent of the world’s brown spirits carry an age statement. The rest are blended, bulk, and turned around fast. The big players already know the system’s limitations and they’re just waiting for a better way to do it.”
That “better way” lies in chemistry. Reactory’s process replicates the complex interactions between spirit, wood, and oxygen that traditionally unfold over years in a barrel. By precisely controlling temperature, pressure, and catalytic reactions, the reactors can guide spirit molecules through the same pathways but in dramatically less time and with less environmental impact.
The implications are huge. Global spirits producers currently tie up billions of dollars in stock sitting idle in warehouses. Reducing that ageing period from years to weeks could free enormous capital, lower costs, and drastically reduce waste. For consumers, it could mean affordable premium products. For the planet, it could mean less wood harvested for barrels and lower carbon footprints from global logistics.
Yet convincing an industry steeped in heritage hasn’t been easy. “It’s one of the most tradition-bound sectors on earth,” Eltom admits. “There’s this belief that time equals quality. But what we’ve shown is that quality actually comes from the chemistry of that time. We’re just controlling that chemistry better.”
Diplomacy and persistence have been crucial. “You have to find the right people inside these giant organisations—the ones who are willing to look forward,” he says. “Once they taste the results, most of the resistance disappears.”
Reactory’s journey has been fuelled by New Zealand’s tight-knit innovation ecosystem. Mentors and investors like Matt Rowe of Outset Ventures and Shaun Edlin of Dotterel Technologies have helped the company raise capital and scale internationally. The startup is now hiring its first team members—a commercial lead and a technical specialist—to support expanding pilots across multiple continents.
Behind the science and strategy Eltom’s philosophy on innovation is refreshingly grounded. “You can patent what you can, but that’s only part of it,” he says. “Our real advantage is know-how. We’re already two years ahead of what we’re showing today. If someone tries to copy the hardware, fine—they’ll still be years behind.”
That forward momentum is central to Reactory’s DNA. The team is already developing new catalysts, improved control systems, and even more efficient reactor designs. “The technology you see now,” says Eltom, “is already old to us.”
It’s a mindset that reflects both ingenuity and a global vision. Eltom sees Reactory not just as a business, but as a spark for broader change—proof that deep-tech innovation can thrive far from traditional centres of power. “We’ve shown that you don’t need to be in Silicon Valley or Scotland to change an industry,” he says. “You can do it from a garage in New Zealand.”
Looking ahead, Reactory plans to scale up to several additional pilots within the next year, deepening relationships with major producers and preparing for commercial rollout. The company’s long-term ambition is clear: to become the backbone technology behind a more sustainable, accessible, and innovative spirits industry.
“When we started, it was just about making good whiskey cheaper,” Eltom says. “Now it’s about transforming how the world makes spirits altogether. Tradition will always have its place but the future of distilling has begun.”
Interview and story by Richard Liew.
Innovation Nation is a series celebrating stories of innovation and diversity in entrepreneurship from around New Zealand.
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