Not being a chemist I can't address the chemistry issue in a definitive way (I did take chemistry in college and decided that I would prefer to be shot out of a cannon at a circus rather than take any more chemistry courses) and as far as "The U.S. Secret Service admitted....." I would suggest that it is NOT true, because if it had actually happened it would be a part of the shrill and hysterical cacophony that we've been hearing from the Left: "Bush Administration Harassing Tiny Scottish Distillery!!" "Religious Zealots In Bush Administration Spying On Distillery On Terror Pretext!!!" "Bush's Secret Service Thugs Make War on Distillery!!!" etc. etc.
My guess mirrors that of many posters on this thread so far, in that it's most likely the product of a marketing / advertising brainstorm session fuelled by some 'special reserve' Single Malt :-)
My guess mirrors that of many posters on this thread so far, in that it's most likely the product of a marketing / advertising brainstorm session fuelled by some 'special reserve' Single Malt :-)
I think you're right. Great answer -- thanks.
Also, see the article in post 145.
During World War I, the microbiologist Chaim Weizmann cultured large quantities of Clostridium acetobutylicum in Nicholson’s gin distillery in England, in order to produce acetone which was desperately needed to make the explosive cordite. It would be just as easy to culture similar volumes of Clostridium botulinum in a distillery, this bacterium produces botulin - the most deadly toxin known to mankind - which would make a very potent biological weapon.
Obviously, its rather unlikely that a respectable Scottish distillery would ever be taken over by the kind of people who would do that, but perhaps the DTRA got a bit carried away!