I will admit even before I type the rest of the story you are about to read I find this to be a bit hokey. That being said, Ardbeg last year was involved in something vaguely similar on a much larger scale, so apparently there is some groundwork already laid for this. What am I referring to exactly? A plan by a Connecticut whiskey distillery to to launch a bottle of its moonshine into space.

Onyx Spirits announced today it will put into high orbit on or around May 2 (weather dependent) one of its 750 ml bottles of Onyx Moonshine. Since hitching a ride on a NASA rocket or the like is not that practical, the distillery instead plans to deploy 22 miles above the Earth Onyx 1, “a a custom-built, weather balloon-powered space apparatus [i.e. aeronautical weather ballon] that will carry [the bottle] and accompanying rocks glass, mounted on a silver platter.” It will, according to the Hartford Business Journal, “be dropped from its peak altitude and deploy a parachute around 45,000 feet.”

Onyx Spirits Company co-founder Adam von Gootkin and Onyx 1 (image via YouTube screenshot/Onyx Spirits)

This crazy ass platform, two years in the making, was designed by scientists and has been outfitted with “GoPro cameras, GPS, radar deflector, deployable parachute and a protective foam casing that will safeguard the bottle upon landing in the Long Island Sound.” Onyx insists as well that “all safety measures have been considered and the FAA will be notified prior to the launch.”

“Onyx Moonshine is all about attempting things that haven’t been done before, which is the true essence of the American spirit,” said Onyx Spirits Company co-founder Adam von Gootkin, in a statement. “It’s amazing to think that 150 years ago our ancestors were arrested for illegally selling moonshine and here we are, legally sending a bottle into space.”

Should the launch, by the way, not occur on May 2, “the subsequent target dates are Sunday May 3, Saturday May 9 or Sunday May 10.” Launch confirmation, time, and location will be communicated the day before the launch, added the distillery. You can learn more about this space bound whiskey project via the video below.