After spending nearly three years in space and orbiting the Earth 15 times a day, a Scottish whisky has returned to terra firma taking on the aromas of smoked fish and beef, with a flavor profile of smoked bacon, antiseptic lozenges and rubbery smoke.
These are among a slew of adjectives used to describe samples of Ardbeg Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky, which were sent into space in 2011 as part of an experiment aimed at observing how terpenes, the building blocks of flavour for whisky spirits, foods and wines, behaved in a zero-gravity environment.

In total, the samples spent 917 days aboard the International Space Station, where they were left to mature with oak wood shavings taken from a former Bourbon barrel. Researchers from the Texas-based group NanoRacks, which conducts research programs on the ISS, also kept a control sample back on earth.

About a year after the space sample touched down in Kazakhstan, Ardbeg released the results of the experiment in a white paper, concluding that zero gravity will indeed change the aromas and flavour profile compared to whiskies aged on back on earth.

Here’s a side-by-side comparison of both samples:
Control sample aroma: Very woody, hints of cedar wood, sweet smoke and aged balsamic vinegar. Hints of raisins, treacle toffee, vanilla and burnt oranges. Very reminiscent of an aged Ardbeg style.
Taste: Dry palate, woody/balsamic flavors, sweet smoke and clove oil. A distant fruitiness (prunes/dates), some charcoal and antiseptic notes. The aftertaste is long, lingering and typically Ardbeg, with flavors of gentle smoke, briar wood, tar and some sweet, creamy fudge.
ISS sample aroma: Intense and rounded, with notes of antiseptic smoke, rubber, smoked fish and a curious, perfumed note, like cassis or violet. Powerful woody notes, hints of graphite and some vanilla. This then leads into very earthy/soil notes, a savory, beefy aroma, and then hints of rum and raisin flavored ice cream.
Taste: A very focused flavor profile, with smoked fruits (prunes, raisins, sugared plums and cherries), earthy peat smoke, peppermint, aniseed, cinnamon and smoked bacon or hickory-smoked ham. The aftertaste is pungent, intense and long, with hints of wood, antiseptic lozenges and rubbery smoke.

Meanwhile, Japanese drinks giant Suntory also sent a bottle of whisky to the ISS this summer, in the similar goal of observing how a constant temperature and limited movement could affect flavour. Experiments such as these are part of a growing field in the space industry looking at how microgravity can alter foods, flavours and aromas. Roses, for instance, have also been observed to take on different perfumes when sent to space. The next stage for Ardbeg is to see how the new space-age flavors can be introduced to their whiskies. The Scottish distillery has also launched a world tour that showcases the space-aged whisky vials in a gravity-free ‘space pod’ which visitors can observe through a glass window. The Ardbeg Space Tracker is currently in Taipei, Taiwan.