Leave a Comment
Before you get too excited, no, researchers haven't found underground Antarctic caves filled with a naturally occurring whisky. But a team of Antarctic adventurers will soon set off on a mission to recover crates of the malt which were abandoned during a 1909 polar expedition.
British polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton had two crates of the now-defunct McKinlay and Co whisky shipped to his Antarctic base near Cape Royds 100 years ago.
They were stashed under the floorboards - presumably to hide them from inquisitive penguins - and somehow abandoned, until restoration workers rediscovered them during work on his hut in 2006.
Unfortunately for them, the crates were too deeply embedded in ice to be dislodged - it's a shame because after almost 100 years on the rocks we bet it would have tasted pretty good.
But now we could find out, the owners of the whisky company are working with New Zealand's Antarctic Heritage Trust to release some of the liquor. They will use special drills to reach the crates where they hope to liberate one or two bottles for a sampling.
The rest will be left buried, in accordance with conservation guidelines - and to taunt future explorers. Depending on the taste the company will then consider replicating the old Scotch for sale.
