So, you’re headed to the South Pole? You might want to drag along a few cases of premium Scotch. Especially since Ernest Shackleton’s whiskey is now in a climate-controlled vault in a New Zealand museum.
Shackleton — whose failed bid at a land-crossing of Antarctica in 1914 resulted in an amazing story of endurance and survival — left behind a few cases of Scotch and brandy. Researchers (yeah, I’ll bet they’re researching) have finally decided to moved the Scotch from Shackleton’s preserved hut in Antarctica to a New Zealand lab, where they’ll slowly warm it up and see how it has fared over the last century.
The crates were labeled “old and rare” when Shackleton took them to Antarctica. They’ve only gotten older and rarer since then. Which is where Richard Paterson comes in.
The master distiller at at Whyte & Mackay, the successor company to Shackleton’s brand of Charles MacKinlay & Co., Paterson is hoping to analyze and taste the preserved Scotch. If it’s a tasty blend (and it is a blend, not a single-malt), Whyte & Mackay want to reproduce and sell the whiskey as a tribute (and marketing hook) to the historic explorer.
