Shackleton’s Whisky

The outer packaging

“A gift from the heavensfor whisky lovers” -Richard Paterson, master blender at Whyte and Mackay

A few years back, under a hut which had stood on the Antarctic ice for more than a century, conservators from the New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust found three cases of whisky. This whiskey (originally 46 cases!) had been ordered from the Glen Mhor distillery for Ernest Shackleton’s 1907 journey to the South Pole. Of course their expedition would need whisky – they were gentlemen, after all, not savages.

The Story
In early 2007, when those conservators were working on the Cape Royds site, they discovered the cases buried under the shack in thick sheets of ice. Shackleton, who has become known in recent years for his management style, was in the news once more. Those in the whisky community were excited. People who care about Antarctica were enthralled. But there are international treaties in place to protect Antarctic artifacts (antartifacts?) Would anybody—let alone me—ever get to taste such a rare thing?

A crate of the whisky made its way to a museum lab in New Zealand in 2010. At the lab, the crate was slowly brought up to 0 Celsius and 10 of the 11 bottles were found to be intact. It amazes me that they survived so long… it reminds me of perfectly in-tact Greek and Roman glass, which clearly had divine protection to make it to our day.

Recreating the Past
Three of the bottles were flown via private jet to Scotland by Whyte and Mackay, the company which owns the Mackinlay’s brand. They “spent several weeks in the laboratory nosing, tasting and deconstructing the whisky to reveal its true heritage”. I’m amazed at what they could discover… that the whisky was matured in American oak sherry casks, that the peat was from the Orkney Islands… Science really is awesome.

the whisky along with the extras in the box.

The masters tasted the whisky (WOW!!!!) and, after what I’m guessing was a very spiritual connection with British history, they described the whisky like this:

“… light honey in colour, straw gold with shimmering highlights, and with an aroma that is soft, elegant and refined on the nose. Indeed, detailed nosing revealed delicate aromas of crushed apple, pear and fresh pineapple with notes of oak shavings, smoke and hints of buttery vanilla, creamy caramel and nutmeg. And, finally, the tasting revealed a spirit that has plenty of impact on the palate; a tantalising array of flavours that is both harmonious and exhilarating.”

In another bit of luck, even though the original distillery was closed, some of their product was still available. This meant that the flavor profile could be recreated more easily, using their whisky as a base.

Beautiful color, great flavor

My Tasting
My palate is nowhere near that refined. I recently ordered a bottle of this whisky and was impressed with the presentation when it arrived. Along with an interesting box, the bottle itself was covered in raffia (to remind the consumer of the original packing straw). The glass and labels were all created with the past in mind.

Along with the whisky, the box included reproductions and information about the journey. There is a map of Antarctica, of the hut (including where the cases were found), some prints of photos from the expedition and a booklet with a lot of the information I’ve shared above. It’s clear that a lot of love and respect went into this product.

In honor of Scott and the heritage this whisky represents, each bottle sold means a donation to the Antarctic Heritage Trust.

After the delightful squeaky squeaky pop on opening the bottle, I took a whiff. I will admit a certain fear that the smell would not be pleasing. I was wrong. I tend to drink single malts, so the combination of aromas was at first surprising but soon I was picking out the different layers. The taste is light and, as stated above, definitely harmonious and exhilarating.

This will be a lovely treat as I read more about Shackleton’s Antarctic adventures.

——-
Read more about the whisky’s journey here: http://www.theshackletonwhisky.com
Donate to the Antarctic Heritage Trust: www.heritage-antarctica.org

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Antarctica

I think of Antarctica as the ultimate adventure destination. Those who travel there, who live and work there, are clearly seekers. The early explorers—Scott, Amundsen, Shackleton, Byrd—sought glory, fame, riches back home, and national pride. Edward Wilson and Cherry Garrard were among those who sought knowledge. They visited penguin breeding grounds to gather eggs for research on how birds and reptiles are related. Herbert Ponting sought to film the new world before him, to document it.

And modern visitors? Clearly, there are still those who seek scientific knowledge. They want to understand our planet’s secrets locked in ice, how climate change is affecting the atmosphere and life, or simply find those organisms living in the extreme environments found there. (Lake Vostok, about 2 miles underneath the ice is an untapped wilderness). For the workers there, I can only imagine that they like the cold? They’re seeking out something more ephemeral—bonding with a select group of like-minded adventurers hunkered down in a frozen land or maybe trying to seek a certain calm within their own souls.

The book from the AMNH exhibit

Tonight I attended a lecture at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia (about to celebrate its bicentennial—Congrats!) by Ross MacPhee. Dr. MacPhee is curator of mammals at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City and organized an exhibit there last year on the race to the end of the world. I loved the exhibit and was excited to hear the man behind it.

He discussed the two men who made it to the South Pole first—Norwegian Roald Amundsen and Englishman Robert Falcon Scott. If you know anything about this race, you know that Amundsen won and Scott didn’t make it back. This breaks my heart a little whenever I think about it, so I asked him if it made him sad as well. I loved his answer, that to the end he was concerned with his men, that they had known what could happen when they signed on and met their ends with as much dignity and compassion for each other as they could.

His lecture included photos of many of the artifacts from this era. It’s wonderful that we have so much info on the early explorers. We have photographs, film clothing, letters and even some of the scotch (even if it is blended) they would have enjoyed in their hut (oh, yeah, the hut is still there and you can donate to help preserve it).

There is something magical about seeing those early visitors explore the harsh environment, comingling with penguins and fending off walruses from eating the polar birds (something clearly frowned upon today). And the direct connect ion to modern times is clear and direct. Visitors to Antarctica still need to stay warm but how the tech has changed! No longer are people snuggling down in layers of cotton or reindeer fur but in sleek man-made fibers ending in –ex and sold through specialty retailers.

But with all our advances, the frozen continent still makes the rules. Getting to the South Pole today still holds many hazards. Today, dog teams aren’t dying from exhaustion or being eaten along the way, but crevasses, ice storms, sub-zero temperatures can all spell doom in an instant.

Beyond the adventurous, romantic image of Antarctica is the idea of hope. The Antarctic treaty protects this jewel as a treasure for all people. Nations work together here both to protect this pristine land and to further the body of knowledge found here. Wildlife is protected and left relatively undisturbed. Tourists (of which I hope to number one day) are kept in check. Even though it’s a frozen land, Antarctica seems to be a bit of a modern-day Eden.

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