Whisky found buried in ice under Shackleton’s hut

Saturday, February 06, 2010

FIVE crates of Scotch whisky buried under Antarctic ice for more than 100 years have been recovered by a heritage team restoring explorer Ernest Shackleton’s hut.

The whisky was made by McKinlay and Co, and drinks group Whyte & Mackay has asked for a sample to carry out tests with a view to re-launching the defunct brand.

Ice cracked some of the bottles that had been left there in 1909, but the restorers said 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 whisky and brandy crates and were amazed to find five.

Mr 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.

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

Ice has cracked some of the crates and formed inside them. Mr Fastier said 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, described the find as "a gift from the heavens for whisky lovers".

"If the contents can be confirmed, safely extracted and analysed, 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.

This story appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Saturday, February 06, 2010