Explorers' century-old whisky found in Antarctic

Friday 05th February, 05:43 PM JST

WELLINGTON, New Zealand —

This Scotch has been on the rocks for a century.

Five crates of Scotch whisky and two of brandy have been recovered by a team restoring an Antarctic hut used more than 100 years ago by famed polar explorer Ernest Shackleton.

Ice cracked some of the bottles that had been left there in 1909, but the restorers said Friday they are confident the five crates contain intact bottles “given liquid can be heard when the crates are moved.”

New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust team leader Al Fastier said the team thought there were two crates and were amazed to find five.

Current distillery owner, drinks group Whyte & Mackay, launched the bid to recover the Scotch whisky for samples to test and decide whether to relaunch the defunct spirit made by distiller McKinlay and Co.

Fastier said restoration workers found the crates under the hut’s floorboards in 2006, but they were too deeply embedded in ice to be dislodged.

The New Zealanders agreed to drill the ice to try to retrieve some bottles, although the rest must stay under conservation guidelines agreed to by 12 Antarctic Treaty nations.

“The unexpected find of the brandy crates, one labeled Chas. Mackinlay & Co and the other labeled The Hunter Valley Distillery Limited Allandale (Australia) are a real bonus,” said Fastier.

Ice has cracked some of the crates and formed inside them. Fastier said in a statement that would make extracting the contents delicate, but the trust would decide how to do so in coming weeks.

Richard Paterson, master blender at Whyte and Mackay, whose company supplied the Mackinlay’s whisky for Shackleton, described the find as “a gift from the heavens for whisky lovers.”

“If the contents can be confirmed, safely extracted and analyzed, the original blend may be able to be replicated. Given the original recipe no longer exists, this may open a door into history,” he said in a statement.

Shackleton’s expedition ran short of supplies on its long ski trek to the South Pole from the northern Antarctic coast in 1907-1909 and turned back about 160 kilometers short of its goal.

The expedition sailed away in 1909 as winter ice formed, leaving behind supplies, including the whisky and brandy.

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4 Comments

minello7 at 07:46 PM JST - 5th February

To think if they had drank the whisky and brandy they would have made it. I do hope they can extract the whisky,and be able to replicate it,I can understand the master blenders excitement.I am suprised though, that they don't have the original recipe.I thought all major food and drink manufacturers, kept all the original recipes for their products.
Madverts at 11:40 PM JST - 5th February

This is ooooooooooooooooooold news.
Wolfpack at 04:00 AM JST - 6th February

The Endurance expedition led by Shackleton was a truely remarkable example of leadership under the most difficult of circumstances imaginable. The bottles of alcohol from that incredible expedition are now just relics of an the age of exploration that ended with the summitting of Everest in 1953. There are no really great discoveries or conquests left - unless you count the redisovery of the original blend of that Scotch!
ChrisBiggins at 04:15 AM JST - 6th February

MY uncle Jerry says he is so excited by this news. If they can make the scotch to the original recipe, i will buy hima dozen bottles for a chrissy present.

I dont know much about this expedition but im going to look it up, it sounds tremendously exciting.