Posted on 07/24/2010 5:20:35 PM PDT by bruinbirdman
A crate of Scotch whisky that has been frozen in Antarctic ice for more than a century is being slowly thawed by New Zealand museum officials.
The crate of whisky was recovered earlier this year - along with four other crates containing whisky and brandy - beneath the floor of a hut built by British explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton during his 1908 Antarctic expedition.
Four of the crates were left in the ice, but one labelled Mackinlay's whisky was brought to the Canterbury Museum in Christchurch on New Zealand's South Island, where officials said it was being thawed in a controlled environment.
Nigel Watson, executive director of the New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust, said the whisky might still be liquid.
"When the guys were lifting it, they reported the sound of sloshing and there was a smell of whisky in the freezer, so it is all boding pretty well," he said.
An Antarctic Heritage Trust team that was restoring the explorer's hut found the crates in 2006 but couldn't immediately dislodge them because they were too deeply embedded in the ice.
Drinks group Whyte & Mackay, the Scottish distillery that now owns the Mackinlay's brand, launched the bid to recover the whisky for samples to test and potentially use to relaunch the defunct Scotch.
Mr Watson said the whisky may still be drinkable but would probably not be tasted.
"This was a blend so they are hopeful if there is enough alcohol left and it is in good condition they may be able to analyse and hopefully replicate the liquid so in fact everyone could partake in this," he said.
"It has been put on ice for 100 years so I don't think it is too unromantic a suggestion. The reality is that it is very limited
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
Wrong, It is a land mass, it is the 5th largest continent, it even has mountain ranges, it is mostly desert.....but here is the rub it is mostly covered with snow and ice and unlivable for civilization. I think it was shortly after the airplane was invented and developed that someone flew beyond the coastal edges and discovered those edges were more then just ice bergs or islands. If you get some old maps or globes earlier then about 1910 you see where they show the area as the Antarctica Ocean, because they didn't know what was beyound the edges, and assumed it was water.
The inference was..... Oh, nevermind. Not worth explaining it.
Well normally, aging for whiskeys is done in barrels, rather than in bottles like wine. Only after the full age does the whiskey get transferred to bottles.
As well as analyzing it chemically, they’re going to have to taste some of it just to get the flavor right in the new duplicate.
I had to look it up to be sure which pole the whisky was found, unless I'm really wrong, and read the article wrong it was found on the south pole. I also looked up artic vs antartic.
Artic think north pole Antartic think south pole
Wines were also smoked (exposed to smoke) for keeping purposes, so I am told. In all, the bottled product was nothing like the bottled wines of today, and was commonly diluted with water before consumption.
This person should not be in charge of a distillery.
Ping.
Shackleton was in the Antarctic.
Fine whiskey is a special thing. But God only made one Ernest Shackleton.
^^
Well said! That man was just unbelievable. I cannot imagine overcoming all that he did. One tough dude.
Are they looking for taste-testing volunteers? :-)
Fortunately, Ernest Shackleton was not so confused. He set out to explore the Antarctic, and therefore sailed South rather than North toward the Arctic. He was, of course, in search of a shrubbery whereby to appease the Knights who say “Nih”. In retrospect, the Antarctic was not the best place to search for a shrubbery, but prudently they had a store of Whisky.
I actually have some unopened Chivas that I purchased around 1985, it was 12 years old then, so that would make it 37 years old, and that puppy is going to be opened this Christmas!!
Unfortunately if it's bottled, being 100 years old isn't going to matter much. Too bad it wasn't in a barrel for that long.
Seconded!
Would have been a lot better if they’ed brought it from the distillery in oak barrels.
I agree with you except for one thing.
There is one thing that as far as I know, they have never been able to freeze.
Helium.
Feh, they're French.
If it’s not tainted by the RIGHT kind of bacteria, it won’t turn to vinegar.
Acetobacter or one of it’s close relations.
They have the enzymes to turn ethanol into acetic acid.
In fact, for most bacteria, a good snort of scotch would be their last bender.
A five percent solution of alcohol is quite antiseptic.
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