Scientists are about to get a taste of something out of this world—literally. After orbiting earth aboard the International Space Station since 2011, several samples of unaged, single malt Ardbeg Distillery Scotch are back on terra firma and ready to be analyzed.
The boozy experiment was designed to determine whether a microgravity environment has any impact on chemical interactions. Experiments similar to this one have been conducted in space, but never before has the subject been whisky. What effect will orbiting Earth at 17,227 miles per hour, 15 times a day, have on the aging process of our favorite spirit? Scientists are about to find out, as they start their analyses to “unlock the mysteries of maturation, through the study of the interaction between Ardbeg-crafted molecules and charred oak, both in microgravity (Low Earth Orbit) and normal gravity in Ardbeg’s Warehouse 3.” Ardbeg was invited by U.S.-based space research company NanoRacks LLC to take part in this unique maturation experiment.
After landing in Kazakhstan, Central Asia, on September 12, the samples were rushed to a laboratory in Houston. There they’ll be analyzed by a team including Dr. Bill Lumsden, Ardbeg’s Head of Distilling & Whisky Creation. It will be the team’s task to crunch the data. Stay tuned: Dr. Bill will be revealing what they find in a paper to be unveiled at a later date.
