Scotch Whisky With a Taste That's 'Out Of This World'

Ardbeg Distillery (Scottish Gaelic: Taigh-stail Àirde Beaga) has always produced a Scotch Whisky that many have tasted and thought with pleasure 'the flavour is out of this world'. The distillery is located on the Inner Hebrides (Scottish Gaelic: Na h-Eileanan a-staigh) island of Islay (Scottish Gaelic: Ìle) off the west coast of mainland Scotland. 

Well  'out of this world' would be a very accurate description! A vial of unmatured malt from the Ardbeg Distillery was sent to the International Space Station in a cargo spacecraft in October 2011, along with particles of charred oak from the Ardbeg casks. The vials orbited the planet at 17,227mph on the Iternational Space Station some 200 miles above Earth for almost three years.

The whisky has now returned to earth and has been described as having an enhanced flavour and character. Dr Bill Lumsden, Ardbeg’s director of distilling, said: 

“The space samples were noticeably different.

“When I nosed and tasted the space samples, it became clear that much more of Ardbeg’s smoky, phenolic character shone through – to reveal a different set of smoky flavours which I have not encountered here on earth before.

“Ardbeg already has a complex character, but the results of our experiment show that there is potentially even more complexity that we can uncover, to reveal a different side to the whisky.”

Oh well! It always was a good whisky. But remember to drink it in moderation - otherwise you really will end up seeing stars!  There are, of course, other whiskies and distilleries in this area of Scotland such as Bowmore, Bruichladdich, Bunnahabhain, Caol Ila, Kilchoman, Lagavulin, Laphroaig and Port Charlotte. So quite a choice.