This New Vodka Is Produced in Chernobyl

A group of scientists from Ukraine and the UK, who have been studying the radioactivity of crops in the area, brewed one bottle of the unique spirit.

And no, the vodka is not radioactive. The distillation of the fermented grains reduces radioactivity in the grain to make a product that is no more radioactive than any other vodka.

Professor Jim Smith of the University of Portsmouth, a leading expert on Chernobyl and a member of the group that led to the making of Atomik Vodka, is confident that this is the start of the economic revival of the area. He said to the University of Portsmouth, “I think this is the most important bottle of spirits in the world because it could help the economic recovery of communities living in and around the abandoned areas.”

Seventy-five percent of the profits from the sale of Atomik Vodka will be given back to the communities still economically impacted by the explosion.

According to the BBC, bottles won’t be widely available for a while, but the research team aims to produce 500 bottles this year and mainly sell them to the tourists who visit the Exclusion Zone.