Whisky In Space

WORDS Debbie Loots

If you’ve ever wondered what happens to whisky and wood shavings when let loose to orbit the globe for three years, wonder no more.

A vial of Ardbeg, a fine Scottish whisky, was sent on a galactic space mission while another sample stayed home at the Ardbeg distillery, all so the molecules of earthbound and space-travelling whisky can be compared and the results revealed in 2015.

A specially designed vial filled with single malt whisky and wood shavings returned home on 12 September 2014 after orbiting the earth 15 times a day for 1045 days.

It was on board the Soyuz-U rocket before landing in Kazakhstan and whisked away to Houston, Texas. There it’s going to be compared to the same sample that stayed home to check the effects of gravity on whisky.

Sending whisky into space is the kind of revolutionary thing to be expected from the Ardbeg distillery. Ask its director of Distilling and Whisky Creation, Dr Bill Lumsden. He is leading the research, along with space partners in the United States, NanoRacks LLC. A chemist by trade, he is seen as a one of the world’s foremost innovators in the world of whisky.

“Ardbeg is known for taking risks in its development of some of the most coveted whiskies in the world, so it is only fitting that it is the first distillery ever in space. We are now close to the end, and close to finding answers to something previously unknown, which is truly exciting,” says Dr Lumsden.

The team is keen to find out if flavour of the space-travelling whisky will be affected, and if so how. Findings could forever change the way whisky is made.

Once all the testing has been done, all will be revealed, sometime in 2015.

Watch out for Ardbeg’s special malt whisky Supernova 2014, specially developed to celebrate their galactic spirit.

Find out more at ardbeg.com.