This Saturday, October 5th, Ardbeg Distillery, one of Scotland’s most popular Scotch producers, will be bringing a Rocket Ship to our place, Harry's Wine and Liquor Market, right here in Fairfield Ct. Come join us from 4-7pm to see the rocket, talk with Ardbeg, take a picture with the rocket, and learn about the experiments with Ardbeg maturation in micro gravity on the International Space Station.
“Ardbeg has always been a hugely innovative brand. Therefore, it only made sense that we would participate in this ground-breaking experiment,” says Geraud Leclercq, U.S. Business Director for Ardbeg. “This tour is the perfect opportunity to educate our consumers about this exciting Ardbeg maturation experiment in micro gravity, which holds out the tantalising prospect of, maybe, being able to develop innovative new products in the years to come.About the experiment:
The scientific experiment itself will last for at least two years during which the Ardbeg Distillery team will provide regular updates on its progress.”
In the fall of 2011 a rocket ship blasted off from Earth at 25,000 mph. Deep within it no ordinary cargo; for the rocket carried research vials of precious Ardbeg-crafted molecules, the beginning of a fascinating first – a research experiment by Ardbeg…in space!
This is the most audacious adventure ever undertaken by Ardbeg Distillery – or any other distillery for that matter. Ardbeg is taking part in an experiment led by U.S.-based space research company NanoRacks LLC to test these micro-organic compounds. The maturation experiment will test the interaction of these Ardbeg-crafted molecules with charred oak. This will take place in normal gravity on Earth and also microgravity, far up in space on the International Space Station. The vials contain a class of compounds known as “terpenes” – a set of chemicals which are very widespread in nature and often very aromatic and flavour-active – as well as other molecules. It is the interaction of these molecules with oak wood that forms the basis of this maturation experiment. This is believed to be the first time anyone has ever studied terpenes and other molecules in near zero-gravity.
This experiment could explain the workings of these large, complex molecules as they will remain on the International Space Station for at least two years and help uncover new truths about the change that these molecules undergo in this near zero-gravity environment. Working in close collaboration with the Ardbeg Distillery team in Scotland, the U.S. team will closely monitor the experiment against control samples here on Earth; both in Houston, Texas at the NanoRacks’ facility, and also in Warehouse 3 at Ardbeg Distillery on the Scottish island of Islay.
Michael Johnson, Chief Technical Officer of NanoRacks LLC, said: “By doing this microgravity experiment on the interaction of terpenes and other molecules with the wood samples provided by Ardbeg we will learn much about flavours, even extending to applications like food and perfume. At the same time it should help Ardbeg find new chemical building blocks in their own flavour spectrum.”
From the Ardbeg side the experiment is being led by Dr. Bill Lumsden, Head of Distilling and Whisky Creation at Ardbeg, and widely considered one of the leading innovators in his industry.
He explained: “This experiment will throw new light on the effect of gravity on the maturation process. We are all tremendously excited by this experiment: who knows where it will lead?”
Check out the video on our Facebook page or go here to see it.
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