Posted on 01/19/2013 12:25:10 PM PST by Kaslin
SCOTTBASE, Antarctica (AP) Talk about whisky on ice: Three bottles of rare, 19th century Scotch found beneath the floor boards of Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackelton's abandoned expedition base were returned to the polar continent Saturday after a distiller flew them to Scotland to recreate the long-lost recipe.
But not even New Zealand Prime Minister John Key, who personally returned the stash, got a taste of the contents of the bottles of Mackinlay's whisky, which were rediscovered 102 years after the explorer was forced to leave them behind.
"I think we're all tempted to crack it open and have a little drink ourselves now," Key joked at a ceremony handing over the bottles to Antarctic Heritage Trust officials at New Zealand's Antarctic base on Ross Island.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
My Brother-in-law loves the single malts like Glen Livet....
Not a Scotch drinker .....drinking dirty martini’s right now with olives stuffed with blue cheese....
Smoking a true Cuban Cohiba....brought a box back from overseas...Shhhhh..don’t tell anyone......
by=buy
by=buy Hic!
Billy beer? Dude!
Red Hackle was issue scotch during WWII. It’s long gone but I have a few bottles I’ve picked up off of ebay.
How does it taste?
Or cheap whiskey. In 100 years when the next guy finds them, it will be great stuff.
This hut wasn’t from the Endurance expedition, but from Shackleton’s second trip to the Antarctic, the Nimrod expedition. On that, Shackleton’s second crack at the South Pole he came within 97 miles of the pole. Weather was ok and he could have made it there, but he didn’t think he could make it there and back and was brave enough to give up on his goal. All survived the return trip.
Wow. What a stupid statement.
Have a drink and lighten up. And then look up “humor” in a dictionary.
Malt ping
I’d have returned three full bottles...after having lovingly filtered the contents through my own two kidneys.
Yes, many distillers are prone to gimmicky promotions - which is precisely what this was. They saw a opportunity to turn an interesting discovery into a high-demand product (similar to the incident where Glenfiddich had one of its dunnage warehouse roofs caved-in by snow in 2010 - they responded with a special bottling).
I saw a bottle of the reproduction Shackleton's scotch at a local liquor store... it was in one of the locked glass cabinets alongside the high-end single malt stuff. I suspect I'd be more impressed by a bottle of something from Compass Box, and spend half as much.
A martini goes good with anything or nothing......But is especially good after 3:00 p.m.
Some of us are interested in what crafted drinks of times long past tasted like. I’d be delighted to get a bottle.
Returning the bottles subjects them to being taken by others and consumed.
Shackleton's totally amazing feat of sailing to, finding the island, and returning for his men is truly extraordinary!
Yet, in today's military, what would be the proper action?
a. The captain abandoning his icebound crew to take a flyer on finding assistance, against all odds??
b. The captain commissioning other qualified sailors in his crew to try to find assistance for the bulk of his crew and himself, while continuing to lead the largest contingent of personnel in trouble??
I suggest that in today's military, he might have been brought up on charges of abandoning his crew to try to save himself.
Anyway, still an amazing man!
On Acension Island in 1943/44 a lot of US crews came through when my dad was the US base commander and they dumped empty bottles (some of them scotch) before they went on to Roberts Field, Liberia, and onwards. The Master Sergeant in charge of the "club" there would gather the empties and fill them all with the abundant supply of Red Hackle the Brits had. Subsequent crews would marvel at the extensive scotch collection and argue the merits of their favorite brands not realizing they were all drinking the same thing!
i just looked up some images of him--i agree!
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