The Whiskey Reviewer A World of Whiskey, Poured Every Weekday
By Richard Thomas
(Credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Japanese whisky-maker Suntory, one of Japan’s big two whisky distillers, announced that they would send samples of their whisky into space and store them in the Japanese lab of the International Space Station.
The purpose is to test the effects of zero gravity on on flavor. Some samples will remain for a minimum of one year, while others will stay in space longer. The samples will consist of whisky that has already seen maturation on Earth, ranging from 10 to 21 years old.
Whisky fans with decent memories will recall that Ardbeg completed a similar experiment-cum-publicity stunt last year. After retrieving their “space Scotch,” they created an Ardbeg Supernova single malt meant to imitate the flavor of the space-aged whisky.
Japanese whisky is experiencing a major shortage as a sector. Suntory responded to their supply difficulties by raising prices on their whiskies by 20 to 25% across the board.
This is the only place I’ve seen that is making this connection between Ardbeg and Suntory. Everyone else is acting like what Suntory is doing is the first time ever. Way to go!