Shackleton’s Whisky Revealed

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

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