from the for-relaxing-times-in-spaaaaace dept.
Japanese whisky will be sent into space next month to test how time in a zero-gravity environment affects its flavour, one of the country's biggest drinks makers said Friday.
Samples of whisky produced by Suntory will be stored in the Japanese laboratory facility of the International Space Station for at least a year, with some flasks staying longer.
Researchers for the company believe that storing the beverage in an environment with only slight temperature changes and limited liquid movement could lead to a mellower flavour. [...] Once they are returned to Earth, blenders will assess their flavours while researchers subject the liquids to scientific analysis, the company said. "For the moment, we're not thinking about applying the study results to commercial products," a Suntory spokeswoman told AFP.
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Japanese firm Suntory wasn't the first distiller to get whisky to the International Space Station (ISS). Ardbeg Distillery has characterized samples of whisky sent to the ISS, finding hints of "antiseptic smoke, rubber and smoked fish, along with a curious, perfumed note, like violet or cassis, and powerful woody tones, leading to a meaty aroma."
That's the verdict of Dr Bill Lumsden, director of distilling and whisky creation at Ardbeg Distillery, which sent vials of its pre-maturation Ardbeg new spirit distillate aloft in 2011 to determine "the effect of micro-gravity on the behaviour of terpenes, the building blocks of flavour for whisky spirits as well as for many other foods and wines".
The experiment, organised by US space research outfit NanoRacks, involved mixing 6ml of the distillate ("the liquid resulting from distillation, which is normally filled into oak barrels for maturation") with "oak wood shavings from the inside of a charred American White Oak ex-Bourbon barrel".
The malt launched to the ISS in August 2011, returning to terra firma in September 2014. The liquid and control samples kept on Earth were then subjected to comparartive "gas chromatography (GC) for major volatile congener analysis, high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) for key maturation related congener analysis".
Ardbeg Space Experiment - Final Frontier Film: The Pier Review
The upshot of this, as revealed in Lumsden's paper The impact of micro-gravity on the release of oak extractives into spirit (PDF) is "no significant difference" in values of "major volatile congeners", such as alcohols, aldehydes, ketones and esters.
However, "significant variable between the ISS and Earth samples was discovered when the results of the HPLC analysis of key maturation related congeners (wood extractives) were considered... The absolute concentration of these compounds was far higher than would normally be expected in standard, barrel-matured spirit, almost certainly as a result of the much higher surface area of woody material that the spirit was exposed to," the paper explains.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 01 2015, @08:57AM
the Earth will be a fine place for wealthy socialites to sip spaceage whisky. Any scientific research that could have been done instead might have benefited the lower class vermin in some way. Best not to do any.
(Score: 4, Informative) by lentilla on Saturday August 01 2015, @09:39AM
storing the beverage in an environment with only slight temperature changes and limited liquid movement
Well, that environment certainly isn't the International Space Station. The half that's in the sun roasts and the half that's in shadow freezes. As for "limited liquid movement" - well, perhaps they are right... except for the whole ride on a rocket ship to get there!
If they really wanted stability, sticking it in a vat in a bunker would be smarter. I think beverage manufacturers already have a name for that - they call it a "cellar".
we're not thinking about applying the study results to commercial products
Oh, yes you are! What you mean is "we haven't worked out how to market it yet" and "we don't have a deal to do this in commercial quantity". Yet.
Can't fault them for giving it a go. Heck, if I had a good excuse to send stuff into space and back (and somebody else was footing the bill), I probably would too.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by mmcmonster on Saturday August 01 2015, @02:14PM
Would I pay a little extra to drink a single malt matured in space? Absolutely. And I hate whiskey.
The auction on those flasks is going to be something remarkable. Either that, or they're going to be reserved for special donations to the ultra-elite.
(Score: 1, Offtopic) by Flyingmoose on Saturday August 01 2015, @11:07AM
If they wanna do something important, they should send an EMdrive and prove once and for all it works...
(Score: 4, Insightful) by bradley13 on Saturday August 01 2015, @12:05PM
Bringing the angels' share closer to the angels?
Everyone is somebody else's weirdo.
(Score: 2) by bugamn on Sunday August 02 2015, @03:17AM
They are just giving the spirits a taste of heaven.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Gaaark on Saturday August 01 2015, @01:48PM
Now that they've said this, the Russian astronauts will all be rushing to get to the ISS!
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. I have always been here. ---Gaaark 2.0 --
(Score: 4, Interesting) by looorg on Saturday August 01 2015, @02:33PM
So one day there might be actual moonshine for sale! Yiha!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 01 2015, @03:35PM
Isn't that the opposite what they should be aiming for?
Asians and alcohol don't seem to mix!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 01 2015, @11:55PM
The paper will be called "Investigation of the propagation of Baudoinia compniacensis in a microgravity environment."