Shackletons Antarctica Whiskey
Posted on 16 August 2010 by LynThomas in Travel
eA crate of Scotch whiskey that was trapped in Antarctic ice for a century was finally opened Friday. However the heritage dram won’t be tasted by whisky lovers because it’s being preserved for its historical significance.
The crate was recovered by a team restoring an Antarctic hut used more than 100 years ago, by the renowned explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton.
The British explorer not only had to abandon his attempt to reach the south pole, he also abandoned two cases of scotch whiskey at base camp.
The whiskey, was first found in 2006, but strict guide lines were imposed on just how the crates could be recovered. The whiskey has now been thawed very slowly in recent weeks, at the Canterbury Museum in Christchurch on New Zealand’s South Island.
Antartic Expedition
Nigel Watson, executive director of the Antarctic Heritage Trust, which is restoring the explorer’s hut, said opening the crate was a delicate process. The crate eventually revealed 11 bottles of Mackinlay’s Scotch whisky, wrapped in paper and straw to protect them from the rigors of a rough trip to Antarctica for Shackleton’s 1907 Nimrod expedition.
Though the crate was frozen solid when it was retrieved earlier this year, the whisky inside could be heard sloshing around in the bottles. Antarctica’s minus 22 Fahrenheit (-30 Celsius) temperature was not enough to freeze the liquor, dating from 1896 or 1897 and described as being in remarkably good condition.
This Scotch is unlikely ever to be tasted, but master blenders will examine samples of it to see if they can replicate the brew and relaunch the now-defunct Scotch.
The crate will remain in cold storage and each of the bottles will be carefully assessed and conserved over the next few weeks. Some samples will be extracted, possibly using a syringe through the bottles’ cork stoppers.
Once samples have been extracted and sent to Scottish distiller Whyte and Mackay, which took over Mackinlay’s distillery many years ago, the bottles will be returned to their home – under the floorboards of Shackleton’s hut at Cape Royds on Ross Island, near Antarctica’s McMurdo Sound.
Whiskey lover Michael Milne, a Scot who runs the Whiskey Galore liquor outlet in Christchurch, described the rare event as a great experience. It is believed the whiskey would still taste exactly as it did 100 years ago.
Trackbacks/Pingbacks
[...] A crate of Shackleton’s Scotch whisky that was trapped in Antarctic ice for a hundred years, was opened recently. The heritage dram however, won’t be enjoyed by whisky lovers because it’s being preserved for its historical significance. Read what will happen to this very special whiskey… [...]