So far, we only know of one instance in which whiskey was sent to space, and this was by way of space packs when the Japanese company Suntory sent its finest varieties to the International Space Station. The packs were outfitted with straws, but it is not known if the astronauts did take a sip, for it would seem crude to drink the liquor in such a manner. Spotting this predicament, Scottish whiskey manufacturer Ballantine developed a high-tech glass designed for drinking whiskey in space.
To achieve its objective, Ballantine hired James Parr from the Open Space Agency to engineer a glass that would allow astronauts to drink in a zero-G environment. The problem is twofold: how to get the liquor inside and how to get it out. The solution came in the form of a futuristic glass that includes a convex gold base plate. The base supposedly provides surface tension to hold the liquid down. The whiskey then passes a spiralling channel the shape of a helix, wound around the glass' sides until it reaches the golden mouthpiece. It was successfully tested in the microgravity environment of the Zarm Drop Tower in Bremen, Germany, according to Wired.
Gold was chosen since it is unreactive and therefore will not affect the liquor's taste. A magnet is built underneath the base to hold the glass down on magnetic surfaces. A valve is also outfitted at the bottom where a custom whiskey bottle nozzle can pour out a shot, Engadget reported. The "glass" itself is a medical-grade PLA plastic since actual glass is fragile and could break easily as it floats in microgravity. Most of the materials including the gold base and the "glass" itself are 3-D-printed.
If you would like to know more about the design, Ballantine has published the details of the process in an article for Medium.
