Scientists have created vodka from grain and water from the Chernobyl zone: what it tastes like

“It’s the only bottle in the world—I start shaking when I pick it up,” says Professor Jim Smith, who is holding Atomik Vodka.

Photo: Facebook / Dagency of Ukraine with the management of the zone vіdchuzhennya

It was made from grain and water from the Chernobyl zone. Scientists claim that this is the first consumer product from the exclusion zone.

The project began with growing crops on a local farm.

In addition to Professor Smith from Portsmouth University, other researchers joined the idea and worked for many years in the Chernobyl zone, studying how it is recovering from the 1986 disaster of the year.

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They hope to sell vodka, and send the funds received to help residents of Ukraine, who still feel the consequences of the accident.

Is this vodka radioactive?

“No more radioactive than any other vodka,” says Professor Smith.

“We took grain that was slightly contaminated and water from the Chernobyl zone and then distilled it.”

Photo: Facebook / Derzhavne agency of Ukraine from the control area of ​​the vidchuzhennya

“We asked our friends at the University of Southampton, who have an excellent laboratory, to see if they could find any signs of radioactivity.”

"They couldn't find anything - everything was below the level they could detect," adds Professor Smith.

Gennady Laptev, a Ukrainian researcher at the Institute’s Hydrometeorological Center in Kiev, also participated in projects to create Atomic vodka.

We talked with him during a trip to the exclusion zone, where scientists conducted regular research. Mr. Laptev is convinced that the local land can be used productively.

“We shouldn't just leave these territories. We can use this land in different ways and produce something that will be completely free of radiation."

Professor Smith hopes that it will be possible to sell the produced vodka, and to direct the funds to help the communities living around the exclusion zone.

Photo: Facebook /State Agency of Ukraine with the management of the zone vіdchuzhennya

Smith has been working in the Chernobyl zone since the 1990's. He says that he was struck by the fact that the economic situation in Ukraine stably remained difficult, at the same time as nature in the exclusion zone was gradually recovering.

“There are hot spots there, but generally the level of radioactive contamination is lower than in other parts of the world, which have relatively high levels of naturally occurring radioactivity,” Smith says.

Photo: Facebook /State Agency of Ukraine with the management of the zone vіdchuzhennya

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"The problem for many people who live near here is that they don't eat well, don't have access to quality health care and don't have jobs."

“Now that 30 years have passed, I tend to think that the main problem for these areas is not radiation, but the lack of economic development.”

What does it taste like?

Thanks to experts from one of London's cocktail bars, I tasted Atomik and compared it to homemade vodka.

Sam Armye, an employee of the Bar Swift bar in Soho, says that in Chernobyl vodka you can really feel the taste of grain.

When asked what drink he'd mix it with for a cocktail, Sam says, "A classic martini for sure, but I'd also try mixing it with champagne."

Now, only one bottle of Atomik vodka was made in the framework of the project, but, according to Professor Smith, by the end of the year, according to plans, there will already be 500. They plan to sell them to tourists who recently visit the exclusion zone more often.

As ForumDaily wrote earlier:

• In July, 2017, the creator of the series Game of Thrones, HBO, announced plans to shoot a mini-series about the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Then the start of filming was announced on 2018 year.
• The choice of location fell on Lithuania, because there, as in many former Soviet republics, there are many buildings and locations where the spirit of that time is still preserved. Several final episodes were shot in the summer of 2018, in Kiev. This link can be found details of how the shooting took place.
• 7 May 2019, HBO announced the launch of the television mini-series "Chernobyl" manufactured by HBO and Sky. The scenario is based on real events that have occurred since the accident for two years after it. The creators tried to recreate as accurately as possible all the costumes and scenery of that time and constantly consulted with the former residents of Pripyat and people from Ukraine.
• As a result, the Chernobyl series on the IMDb website received an 9,6 score from 10, and took the first line in the rating of "250 TV show with the highest rating of viewers", bypassing the iconic "Game of Thrones".
• And here the liquidators of the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster talked about their view of truth and fiction in the sensational series.
• In June, the party "Communists of Russia" appealed to Roskomnadzor demanding limit access to the American TV series "Chernobyl" on all trackers and resources, calling the HBO's work "slander, defaming Soviet power."

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