It was fired into space three years ago. In October 2011, a vial of unmatured malt from Ardbeg Distillery on Islay was blasted up in a cargo to the International Space Station along with Charred oak particles.
The scientists were interested in finding out how they would interact at close-to-zero gravity. On September 12, it is expected to land in Kazakhstan aboard a rocket. The vial of Ardbeg has been orbiting the atmosphere of our planet for 1,045 days.
NanoRacks, a Texas based space research company invited Ardbeg to take part in space experiment in late 2011.
The vial that was launched by Soyuz rocket from Baikanur (Kazakhstan) back in the year 2011 contains terpenes, a class of chemical compounds. To act as a control sample, an identical bottle has been kept at the distillery on Islay.
In order to find the differences between Earth whisky and space whisky the scientists will compare the two samples that will be reunited at a lab in Texas.
This is one small step for man but one giant leap for whisky. The team hope to uncover how flavours develop in different gravitational conditions - findings which could revolutionise the whisky-making process.
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