A teaspoon of whiskey has long been the preferred medicine of Irish grandmothers, but a new study suggests they might just be onto something.

A recent study examining different types of bacteria that can survive in ice cubes. Researchers placed the cubes in a number of drinks to see which would kill off the most bacteria. Neither the freezing temperature, nor vodka, nor the corrosive properties of Coca-Cola could clear all the bacteria, but whiskey cleared the lot.

The study, “Presence of pathogenic bacteria in ice cubes and evaluation of their survival in different systems,” can be read here.

So while the whiskey might not have any health benefits of it's own, it could prevent you from picking up a bug from killing off bacteria in dirty ice. Every little helps!