Whisky to be aged in space for first time in university satellite project

Whisky is to be distilled in space for the first time as part of an experiment which will also measure how the spirit ages in the environment beyond Earth's atmosphere.

Engineers in Scotland and Japan plan to launch a rocket in 2028, sending a satellite containing samples of the alcohol and its base ingredients on a five-year mission to orbit Earth.

It is hoped the frequent changes between extreme heat and freezing cold experienced by the whisky as it rotates the planet every 90 minutes could speed up the maturation process.

This could potentially open the door to future production of space-aged whisky, which the scientist behind the project expects to have "very bold" flavours as a result of its unusual journey.

While such whisky would command astronomical prices due to the cost of launching and recovering it, keen collectors are already known to pay hundreds of thousands for some of the rarest bottles.

Dr Gilles Bailet, of the University of Glasgow, said a number of students have travelled from Scotland to Japan to help to co-design the "cubesat" which will contain the tiny whisky samples and ingredients.

The research is also expected to provide insight into how orbital factories could work, which could develop molecules for medications which are difficult to produce on Earth.

Dr 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."

The current plan for the experiment - nicknamed "Space Puffin" - is to launch the cubesat in 2028 on a SpaceX supply mission to the International Space Station, before deploying it into orbit from the Japanese module of the space station.

The science around the process of whisky "breathing" as it ages in wooden casks is not well understood, Dr Bailet said, but the cycles could happen much faster in space - where temperatures can quickly vary between minus 150 degrees to 200 degrees.

Dr Bailet said: "We build our spacecraft to be able to get an environment which is better for the whisky, but this wood will breathe faster than on Earth.

"And so we are hoping that we'll be able to accelerate the ageing to be able to get something more interesting."

The alcohol on the cubesat will be monitored while it is in space, feeding data on its colour and chemical composition back to scientists on the ground.

On Earth, whisky is produced by mixing barley with water and yeast. Yeast breaks down the sugars in the barley, creating ethanol as a byproduct.

The team's system will demonstrate how ethanol, which plays a role in the production of many drugs, can be extracted in orbit.

While the cubesat will not be recovered at the end of its mission, Dr Bailet said he is keen to develop a system for launching Scotch into space and landing it on Earth after maturation.

He said: "We are really keen to be able to actually fly a full whisky-making system, with a full cask, if we're able to collaborate with investors or other people interested about it.

"But it's totally in the realm of [possibility] to bring back something like a litre of whisky within the next three to five years."

Dr Bailet hopes the process will produce "really bold whiskies" with "extremely complex flavour profiles".

While whisky has previously been into space as part of an experiment to understand flavour, it did not leave the temperature-controlled confines of the International Space Station.

The cubesat will not have a full whisky cask on board. However, the liquid samples will be contained by small wood chips to mimic the cask aging process on Earth.

Different distilleries in Scotland and Japan are expected to contribute the whisky, though these have not been chosen yet.

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The initial visit to Japan is the result of a grant from distillery-design consultancy Allen Associates.

Geoff Nisbet, lead process design engineer at the consultancy, said: "We often say that our fingerprints are found all over Scotland's distilleries - we never expected the next set might end up in space.

"We're delighted to support a project which brings together Scotland's world-renowned whisky industry, engineering innovation and the next generation of engineers.

"There is also something quite fitting about Scotland and Japan being brought together through whisky once again, this time with a project looking far beyond the distillery itself."

(c) Sky News 2026: Whisky to be aged in space for first time in university satellite project