Countdown to space-aged whisky

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Samples of Scotch and Japanese whiskies, along with their ingredients and samples of cask wood, will be sent into space as part of a five-year mission to examine whether the extreme changes in temperature experienced as the craft orbits Earth every 90 minutes could speed up the maturation process.

The whisky experiment — dubbed “Space Puffin” — will travel aboard a SpaceX supply trip to the International Space Station in 2028 and was co-designed by students after a visit to Japan funded by distillery-design consultancy Allen Associates.

The University of Glasgow’s Dr Gilles Bailet, said: “We want to see what the effect of a space environment is on the aging of the whisky.

“We’ve got the best people here in Scotland to be able to inform that, with centuries of experience, so we can bring this whisky experience into space.

“We built our spacecraft to be able to get an environment which is better for the whisky, but this wood will breathe faster than on Earth.”

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