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20th January 2013 |
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New Zealand Prime Minister repatriates ‘Shackleton’s whisky’ to Antarctica.
Yesterday,
(Saturday 20 January 2013 New Zealand
time) New Zealand Prime Minister John
Key returned 3 bottles of more than 100
year old whisky to the Antarctic
Heritage Trust in Antarctica. The 3
bottles are from whisky crates excavated
from under explorer Sir Ernest
Shackleton’s only Antarctic expedition
base by Trust conservators in 2010.
The Prime Minister handed the whisky
over to Antarctic Heritage Trust Trustee
Rob Fenwick. The bottles will then be
entrusted to Lizzie Meek, Antarctic
Heritage Trust’s Programme Manager –
Artefacts. The Trust cares for the
whisky, as well as thousands of objects
left in the expedition bases by the
early Antarctic explorers.
The handover marks part of the final
stage in a remarkable journey. After
excavating the whisky one crate was
flown to Canterbury Museum, New Zealand
under permit from the New Zealand
Government and thawed by Programme
Manager Lizzie Meek, revealing eleven
bottles of Mackinlay’s whisky.
Three bottles were then sent to Scotland
for scientific analysis by Whyte &
Mackay, (owner of the Mackinlay’s brand)
and The Scotch Whisky Institute. The
whisky provided a unique opportunity to
apply modern sensory and chemical
analytical methods to establish the
flavour and composition of a product
manufactured more than one hundred years
ago.
Whyte & Mackay’s Master Blender, Richard
Paterson, then used his unique nosing
and tasting skills to create an exact
replica of the whisky. This whisky,
which has been sold around the world,
has gone on to raise over £250,000 to
fund various Antarctic Heritage Trust
projects, including the preservation of
Shackleton’s Antarctic expedition base.
Repatriating the whisky back to
Antarctica fulfils the permit conditions
issued by the New Zealand Minister of
Foreign Affairs to remove, analyse and
return the whisky.
The whisky travelled to Antarctica on
Thursday 17 January 2013. The handover
took place in the Antarctic Heritage
Trust’s conservation lab at New
Zealand’s Scott Base where the Trust’s
team of conservators work over winter,
conserving the explorers’ clothing,
equipment, tinned goods and personal
items.
Once conservation is complete at Scott
Base the 3 crates will be returned to
Ernest Shackleton’s British Antarctic
Expedition 1907-1910 base at Cape Royds,
Antarctica.
Richard Paterson, Whyte & Mackay Master
Blender said "Having the chance to
analyse and taste a whisky that is over
100 years old has undoubtedly been the
highlight of my career. The whole
process – from discovery to excavation
to recreation and now repatriation - has
taken 5 years but it’s been well worth
it!
"And as we come full circle in the
original whisky’s journey, I’m pleased
that the pioneering spirit of Shackleton
will live on through the Antarctic
Heritage Trust’s research, books,
stories and of course the whisky! It is
indeed an enduring spirit."
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Mackinlay's Rare Old Highland Malt
Tasting
Notes
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 The replica Shackleton
Discovery Mackinlay's Rare
Old Highland Malt is a blended malt containing whisky from a
range of Highland malts, including Glen Mhor, which was the original Mackinlay’s
distillery before it closed in 1983.
Limited to 50,000 bottles, it
was bottled at 47.3% ABV, is non
chill-filtered and has had no added caramel
colouring (Just how we like it). It
comes in a replica bottle and wooden
box.
William
Morrison's Tasting Notes:
Colour:
Pale gold.
Nose: Spicy oak, fresh fruit
green apples, pear drops, smooth malty
cereal, vanilla, hint of orange zest and
a whisper of smoke.
Taste:
Loads going on here, rich creamy toffee,
vanilla, a bit of orange zest,
hazelnuts, a little sprinkling of
pepper, old and new oak spices and a
lovely very light touch of smoke is
always lingering in the background
Finish:
Long and rich with drying oak spices,
creamy toffee and the slightest hint of
smoke.
Comment:
No wonder Ernest Shackleton choose
Mackinlay's whisky to take with him to
the South Pole. This shows just how
special a blended malt whisky can be, it
is a very high quality blended malt
whisky and very easy to drink. Richer
than the colour lets on. Loved it!
The first run of the replica Mackinlay’s
sold out within a year and that success
raised close to £250,000 for the
Antarctic Heritage Trust (AHT).
Therefore On October 26th 2012, a second
edition of the Shackleton's Mackinlay's
Rare Old Highland Malt was launched. The
second edition, known as Shackleton's
Journey - Mackinlay's Rare Old Highland
Malt, was inspired by 2013's Shackleton
Epic expedition, retracing the steps of
Sir Ernest and crew during part of their
Endurance expedition, the new
Mackinlay's Shackleton 2nd edition
recreation is expected to raise a
further £500,000 for the AHT.
You will find both the Shackleton
Discovery and Shackleton Discovery Journey currently available
from
The Whisky Exchange while
stocks last.
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Where To Buy Shackleton's Mackinlay's Whisky Online
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Select a country for a list
of specialist Whisky shops who delivers
to you:
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Whisky Focus
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