Many people have asked why we aren’t drinking the whisky. Or why we aren’t keeping it in New Zealand.
The Antarctic Heritage Trust manages a programme of heritage conservation in Antarctica, which involves the heroic-era expedition bases of Scott, Shackleton, and Carsten Borchgrevink. Each of these sites is protected under the Antarctic Treaty System and New Zealand is one of the 46 nations which abides by the Treaty System. Areas of biological or historical significance are called Antarctic Specially Protected Areas, and are governed by a management plan. The ASPA management plan for Cape Royds states:
Cape Royds is one of the principal areas of early human activity in Antarctica. It is an important symbol of the Heroic Age of Antarctic exploration and, as such, has considerable historical significance. Some of the earliest advances in the study of earth sciences, meteorology, flora and fauna in Antarctica are associated with the Nimrod Expedition which was based at this site. The history of these activities and the contribution they have made to the understanding and awareness of Antarctica give this Area significant scientific, aesthetic and historic values….
The aim of the ASPA plan is to protect the site from damage and the further loss of artefacts. AHT works to conserve the artefacts at the hut sites at their original site; to minimize their deterioration; and to make information about the objects available within the limits imposed by the physical location of the site. The whisky crate was removed under the management plan provision to temporarily remove artefacts for conservation treatment.
Conservation may be described as the means by which the true nature of an object is preserved. The true nature of an object includes evidence of its origins, its original construction and materials, information as to the technology used in its manufacture, and the cultural significance of the object.
As well as preserving the crate and bottles as unique objects at a unique site, the opportunity exists to reveal information about the ingredients and processes used to manufacture whisky over 100 years ago, information for which records do not currently exist.
The world has already learned a great deal just from seeing the objects and their packaging emerge from the ice. It is also possible a small sample may be analysed to provide further information about historic whisky making, but the ultimate goal is to preserve the bottles in their original state, for future generations, and return them to their designated historic site.
The research on producing the Shackleton Whisky film began in late February 2010 when talkback THAMES first started speaking to the AHT and Whyte & Mackay. Teaming up with the world renowned broadcaster, National Geographic Channel, production was able to get under way in earnest (pardon the pun) in May; by June our heads were filling up with stories of derring-do by Shackleton and his crew, as well as the fine aromas of single malt Scotch whisky!
The find of Shackleton’s whisky stash on Cape Royds presented us lucky film makers with a unique opportunity to tell a different story of one of the greatest Antarctic explorers; as well as shine a fresh light on polar exploration and, importantly, showcase the Nimrod expedition, arguably Shackleton’s greatest success.
The whisky crates have also given us a new insight into the lives of these Victorian explorers; how they passed their time on the ice and the immense leadership qualities required to keep them all going through the harshest elements the planet had to offer. The consignment also highlighted the monumental effort, and the shear number of stores, required to mount an expedition of this nature at the turn of the 20th Century – there were no GPS or satellite phones in those days, help was a long way away, you literally had to take everything!
The whisky itself is from a time when Scotch was on the rise and fast becoming the world renowned tipple we know it today. Its convoluted origins go back thousands of years to the dawn of civilisation and this 100 year old stash has given us an opportunity to tell the story of this remarkable drink; from its production to the highs and lows of a drink we simply take for granted.
Today, whisky is one of the leading industries in Scotland; with billions of £’s exported every year, it is one the top 5 export industries in the UK – then add Ireland, USA and Japan and you soon realise how big an industry whisky really is around the world!
Filming has been progressing pretty smoothly from a production point of view. Our coverage of the media interest in the whisky thaw took us a little bit of time to get our heads around. Sort of a love triangle – kind of!
The idea was that the whisky thaw would be filmed by local media, who we would film for our story and Mike (our director) would film us, filming them, filming the thaw for behind the scenes shots.
However, to spice up their stories, the local media choose to film the thaw, then film us, filming them filming the thaw…comprende?? No we didn’t get it either! Essentially everyone was filming everyone, which will make an interesting edit – did anyone actually film the whisky?
Probably the biggest challenge faced to date was the reconstructions we had to shoot. These scenes re-enacted Shackleton and his men hauling heavy sledges across the snow and ice and storing their precious cargo of whisky.
On a shoestring budget we managed to get 4 fit mountain men in period costume and a team of huskies pulling a wooden sled across vast snowy landscapes.
The South Island Siberian Husky Club came to the party and two owners provided us with a team of huskies for a day. In fact we even had a husky casting call with a dozen dogs brought up the mountain for us to choose the best six! We did feel sorry for the ones who missed out and were left in their trailers! But they got a treat in the end.
However, by the end of day one we were in desperate need of another tough, rugged Antarctic explorer type to join our rag bag team. Not one to let the side down, Nadia, our able Assistant Producer, volunteered (more like conned) to don the gear and get into character for the final sequence – those explorers sure had fine soft skin back then?!
The last day of reconstruction filming was breezy so say the least! The weather was atrocious, the prevailing nor’ west wind ripped through the mountains, perfect for shots capturing an Antarctic style blizzard, but it was hell for the crew!
But soldiering on and with shots in the can it was good to retreat to the museum where, in our absence, there had been significant ice melt around the crate. The smell of whisky was getting stronger (indicating a broken bottle perhaps?…) and a murky amber liquid was being collected from the drip tray… possibly our only chance to score a taste of this priceless whisky – the crew contemplated drinking the ice melt but were deterred at the last minute by evidence of penguin excrement!
Locked into the museum one night to film crate shots after dark it did occur to us that we were in the perfect position to pull off the ultimate heist. We had amongst our camera kit and lens a replica whisky crate which had been constructed (for our reconstructions) by the museum. It is an extraordinary copy and we did wonder if we managed to out smart the security and switch the crates, how far we’d get before anyone would notice! Only joking!
In celebration of a good few weeks work the crew got together and assembled an eclectic mix of Christchurch’s finest. From Mary Boyle, the daughter of one of Shackleton’s Nimrod crew to Charles Usher, a direct descendant of Charles Mackinlay, we warmed them up with a few drams in Christchurch’s speciality whisky store ‘Whisky Galore’. Owner Michael Milne hosted a tasting with some educated guess work at what flavours might lay within the frozen crate.
Finally, after weeks of careful planning, monitoring and gradual thawing everyone’s patience and hard work was rewarded and on Thursday 12th August 2010, 102 years, 7 months and 12 days after the Nimrod left Lyttleton Harbour, the whisky bottles were finally revealed.
We were rewarded with not 9, but 11 bottles of whisky, one of which had broken – confirming our suspicions. 10 bottles of whisky was a great result and certainly increased our chances of getting an untainted sample of this precious amber liquid.
Going on from here we are all eagerly anticipating what might be contained within these bottles, what other mysteries and twists to the story await. We already know that the bottles are labelled with the name Endurance and not Nimrod, but why? Why did Shackleton chose Mackinlay’s? And why was it so important to take so many crates of whisky on such a treacherous expedition – not something you’d likely see today.
No doubt there will be plenty more questions coming out of these bottles, giving us clues to what life was like for an Antarctic explorer 100 years ago and helping us add a few more details to the history of whisky, surely one of the most recognised drinks in the world.
Keep a look out for the film in 2011 and be sure to have a wee dram prepped and primed for the occasion!
After much anticipation, the contents of a whisky crate from Ernest Shackleton’s 1908 British Antarctic (Nimrod) Expedition were revealed on Friday.
A team of Antarctic Heritage Trust and Canterbury Museum Conservators have been examining and working on the crate for the last two weeks in a purpose-built cool room. As the ice inside gradually thawed, the team was able to examine the contents, and eventually lift out several intact bottles labelled ‘Mackinlay’s Rare Old Highland Malt Whisky’.
Eleven bottles of the 114 year old whisky have been recovered, of which remarkably ten appear perfectly intact despite their labels having deteriorated. The wording ‘British Antarctic Expedition 1907 Ship Endurance’ is still visible on some of the bottles. As it transpired, Shackleton never changed the name of ths ship from Nimrod to Endurance for this expedition.
Intriguingly one bottle is missing from the packing inside the crate. This is consistent with where the crate itself appears to have been jimmied open and the timber broken before the ice built up inside the crate.
The Antarctic Heritage Trust plans to work with the owners of the Mackinlay’s brand, Whyte and Mackay, to extract and analyse the whisky. “The ultimate aim is to replicate the original blend so that whisky drinkers the world over can enjoy this gift from the whisky gods. There is much to do before we know if this is possible” said Richard Paterson, Whyte and Mackay’s master blender.
Each of the bottles will be carefully assessed and conserved in the coming weeks. It is expected that the crate and its contents will remain on display at the Canterbury Museum for the next month. Following conservation and analysis, the intention is to eventually return them to Antarctica.
A full bottle of 114 year old whisky from beneath Shackleton's Hut at Cape Royds
Today Lizzie and Sasha have continued to monitor the moisture content of the straw and paper, with the aim of being able to remove a straw covering from one of the bottles in the next few days. Lizzie took this great photo which gives us a closer look at the bottle’s paper wrapper.
A closer look at the paper wrapper beneath the straw covering
Well, it was a pretty exciting day at the Museum today as we were able to carefully lift the bottles out of the crate. With the ice melted, the straw, paper and wood of the crate was still quite wet, and getting airflow happening around the bottles was not possible whilst they remained inside.
So one by one, each bottle in its cover was lifted out and laid into a mesh cradle, allowing air to circulate all around the bottle. With the straw covers being of various densities, some glimpses of the bottle’s printed label were visible.
Much to our surprise we found 11 bottles in the crate – one straw cover was empty! And, it was a cover tucked in at the back of the crate, inaccessible through the ice layer. So, some speculation amongst the team – was the bottle removed hastily, leaving the cover behind, or did someone extract a bottle and leave the cover in place, hoping the disappearance wouldn’t be noted? I think we’ll be left guessing. The next phase of the conservation treatment will be allowing the straw and wet, pulpy paper to dry before attempting to remove the covers.
The eleven bottles and one empty straw cover (front, third from right)
