MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Shackleton Antarctic gift for whisky lovers': century old recipe

Five crates of whisky and brandy were found by the team underneath the floorboards of the explorer's hut

Five crates of a century-old lost whisky belonging to Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton have been recovered by conservators. Three crates of the Mackinlay whisky, and a further two crates of brandy, were discovered beneath the hut, and used by Shackleton to launch his journey to the South Pole.

Now experts hope they can recreate the original recipe for the drink for modern whisky lovers. A team from the New Zealand Atlantic Heritage Trust has excavated five crates from beneath the hut at Cape Royds.

“We thought there were two crates possibly containing whisky under the 1908 building,” said team leader Al Fastier.
“To our amazement we found five crates, three labeled as containing whisky and two labeled as containing brandy.”

The team is now working out how best to retrieve the contents of the crates - but is confident at least some of the bottles inside are intact.

Shackleton's expedition in 1908 got closest to the South Poll at that time, although the return journey saw his four-strong team battling starvation. It saw him return to the UK a hero.

Richard Paterson, master blender with Whyte and Mackay - which provided the Mackinlay's whisky for Shackleton's expedition - said the recovery of the lost drink was 'a gift for whisky lovers'.

”Given the original recipe no longer exists this may be an open door into history,“ he said. ”If the contents can be confirmed, safely extracted and analyzed, the original blend may be able to be replicated, allowing people to taste a true part of history and be part of what must be the whisky story of the century” said Paterson who is nicknamed “the Nose” due to his blending skills.

Whyte and Mackay has been assisting the New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust since they were informed of the discovery in November, providing advice as to how to preserve the integrity of the cases, the bottles and the whisky itself.