Renowned for their precision distillation and commitment to innovative and exciting new production and development processes, Suntory, the Japanese whisky company, has announced that they have sent samples of their finest whisky into space. The hope is that the tests will show the effects of zero gravity on the whisky’s ageing process and whilst it seems a bit madcap, it shows the dedication of the distillery to push their product to be the best it can be.
In 2014 Suntory saw their Yamazaki Single Malt Sherry Cask 2013 heralded as the best whisky in the world, outstripping Scottish distilleries in a shock call and it’s clear they are a company who will do anything to improve their product quality and style. Suntory has sent six samples of their finest whiskies into space to see if they can be further improved and the samples have specifically been sent to the International Space Station.
Alongside the whisky Suntory will be sending other alcoholic drinks into space to test the effect of zero gravity and how this may affect the mellowness of each drink. The experiment is one way for Suntory to see how the no gravity environment affects mellowness but also figure out how the process which creates the mellow taste in a spirit works. With this knowledge they may be able to create and develop smoother whiskies without the need for a long ageing period, which would be an innovation to the modern whisky drinking world.
The samples have been sent and offer a range of different types of whisky from a freshly distilled flask to a 21-year old single malt and they will spend between one and two years in space, before returning for testing. These are purely samples though and not for sale and therefore no one can expect to be drinking space-aged Suntory any time soon!
