Glenlivet is trying to get customers on board with drinking whiskey out of little pods that dissolve in your mouth — and people have questions

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

• Glenlivet is now offering its whiskey in the form of small pods that dissolve in your mouth.
• The Scotch whiskey company released a video advertisement showing people enjoying the collection of "edible cocktail capsules" that can be consumed with "no need for a glass, ice, or a cocktail stirrer."
• Each capsule, which is made of seaweed, holds 0.77 ounces— or about half a typical shot — of booze.
• People had many questions on social media, with many wondering if it was a joke and others comparing the capsules to Tide Pods.
• Some said consuming whiskey this way would ruin the experience because you can't smell it or sip it.
• A representative for Glenlivet told Business Insider the collection is a limited release that will be available to try at one London bar — free of charge — only during London Cocktail Week, which runs through October 13.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Scotch whiskey company Glenlivet has launched an already controversial new product: "The Capsule Collection," which sells whiskey in small, biodegradable pods that dissolve in your mouth.

The company released a video showing people enjoying what the narrator calls "edible cocktail capsules" made from seaweed that can be enjoyed with "no need for a glass, ice, or a cocktail stirrer."

According to the video, Glenlivet partnered with sustainable packaging startup Notpla to create the pods and London bar Tayer to create three new Founder's Reserve-based recipes.

"To enjoy them, pop the capsule in your mouth and take a bite to release the delicious cocktail ingredients," the narrator says in the video.

Each capsule contains 23 milliliters of booze, or about 0.77 ounces. A typical shot glass holds 1.5 ounces.

The new capsules are free of charge for adults who want to try them, but they're only available at the Tayer bar in London during London Cocktail Week, which runs from October 4 through October 13, a representative for Glenlivet told Business Insider. 

"As a brand that celebrates originality, we are always looking to break the conventions that have determined how single malt Scotch has historically been enjoyed," Glenlivet director Miriam Eceolaza told Food and Wine magazine. "The Glenlivet Capsule Collection does exactly that, and we're excited to see how people react when they try our glassless cocktails."

People on the internet have a lot of questions

Many people on Twitter wondered if the capsule collection was a joke or a parody.

Some said the capsules reminded them of Tide Pods, the laundry detergent capsules that have long been at the center of a meme about the product appearing edible. In the "Tide Pod Challenge," some people — mainly teens — pretended, or in some cases, appeared to actually eat Tide Pods.

An overarching criticism of the whiskey pods was that the capsules would "cheapen" the mystique of the Glenlivet brand and ruin the experience of drinking whiskey.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

"Scotch is meant to be sipped, its complex flavors enjoyed in micro sips," one Twitter user wrote. "As soon as you treat it like tequila or cheap hooch, your brand is dead."

Another user wrote:"This destroys the experience of tasting a good scotch. You can't nose it. You can't sip it. You can't fold your tongue, and then flatten your tongue inside your mouth, exposing different flavor receptors."

On Instagram, one person pointed out that most whiskey drinkers seem to particularly enjoy the experience of sipping the beverage. 

"I don't imagine they get a thrill out of popping a pod in their mouths," they wrote.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The creator of the capsule cocktail recipes, bartender Alex Kratena of Tayer, told The Washington Post that the collaboration was "an exploration of the flavor pillars" in Glenlivet whiskey.

"For me, there's so much more which makes the liquid complex," Kratena told the Post. "When you insert them in your mouth and gently press them against your palate, you get all the flavors."

He added that any similarity to Tide Pods was a coincidence.

SEE ALSO: 15 celebrity-owned liquor brands, ranked by the price of a bottle

DON'T MISS: The 3 mistakes people make when buying, ordering, and drinking whisky — and what to do instead

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Traditional Japanese swords can take over 18 months to create — here's what makes them so special