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Whisky proven to kill ice bacteria

A new scientific study has found that whisky kills more bacteria in restaurant ice than vodka, tonic water or cola.

Whisky kills more bacteria found on ice than vodka, tonic water or cola

The study, published in the journal Annals of Microbiology, was carried out by a group of Italian scientists who studied 60 samples of ice from domestic, restaurant or industrial producers.

They found 52 different strains of bacteria across the 60 samples of ice, some of which were “agents of human infection”, indicating environmental contamination.

The researchers then took samples of contaminated ice and, to simulate a bar environment, used this ice to serve a range of drinks, including vodka, whisky, peach tea, tonic water and cola.

In the case of each drink, they found that the population of bacteria in the sample was reduced and cited the levels of alcohol, the drink’s pH and the amount of carbon dioxide in each serve as reasons for the reduction.

However, their results also showed that the ice sample served with whisky saw the greatest reduction in bacteria – none of the bacterial strains on the ice cubes survived after they were added to the whisky.

The researchers noted that this was likely to be because of whisky’s higher acidic content than vodka. They said the more acidic a drink is, the less likely bacteria are able to survive.

Although acidic drinks may reduce the number of bacteria found in our drinks, if served in a copper mug these same acidic drinks could cause a number of other health issues.

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