We assume that by this point you will have made your way through HBO’s face-melting Chernobyl mini-series. The all-consuming series ushered in an era of obsessive conversation with friends who had all buried themselves in a YouTube rabbit hole, rabidly consuming conspiracy theories about the seismic event.
Now, in a world-first, an “artisan vodka” has been brewed from the grain and water from the Chernobyl exclusion zone. It is the first-ever consumer product to come from the area, which was off-limits for three decades.
Atomik Vodka was brewed by a team of scientists from the UK and Ukraine. It is the product of a three-year research project that saw the transfer of radioactivity from the soil to crops grown in the zone.
Don’t worry, the vodka is safe to drink. While there was radioactivity present in the grain, the distilling process of vodka completely eliminates all signs of impurities.
“This is no more radioactive than any other vodka,” says Prof Smith. “Any chemist will tell you when you distil something, impurities stay in the waste product.
“So we took rye that was slightly contaminated and water from the Chernobyl aquifer and we distilled it.
“We asked our friends at Southampton University, who have an amazing radio-analytical laboratory, to see if they could find any radioactivity.
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“They couldn’t find anything – everything was below their limit of detection.”
As it stands, only one bottle exists. Though the team behind Atomik has expressed that they hope they will be able to begin selling a small-scale run of the spirit by the end of this year. If they can get clearance, they plan to donate 75 per cent of profits to the Ukranian community affected by the exclusion zone.
If you haven’t yet watched Chernobyl, we implore you to do so. Australian’s can stream it on Foxtel, or, y’know, illegally. Check out a trailer below.
Watch: Chernobyl Official Trailer
