FIVE CRATES of alcohol have been excavated from under Ernest Shackleton’s Antarctic hut. The crates are believed to have been left behind over 100 years ago.
A New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust team of conservators were aware that perhaps two crates of whisky were buried beneath Shackleton’s only Antarctic hut, built during his unsuccessful South Pole expedition between 1907 and 1909.
However, the team found three crates of “Rare Old” Mackinlay Co whisky and two crates of brandy, labelled The Hunter Valley Distillery Limited Allandale, which team leader Al Fastier described as “a real bonus”.
“Ice has cracked some of the crates and formed inside them which will make the job of extracting the contents very delicate,” he said.
“The team is confident that the crates contain intact alcohol, given liquid can be heard when the crates are moved.
“The smell of whisky in the surrounding ice before excavation commenced also indicated full bottles of spirits were inside, albeit that one or more might have broken.”
Margaret Walsh, curator of the Athy Heritage Centre, which houses the only permanent exhibition dedicated to Shackleton, says the centre will be tracking the whisky’s progress to try and procure it for the exhibition.
However, the co-ordinator of the Ernest Shackleton Autumn School, Seamus Taafe, said that this may be unlikely due to preservation orders.
While the ice will be drilled to retrieve some bottles, the rest must stay under conservation guidelines agreed to by 12 Antarctic Treaty nations.
“It would be fantastic if one bottle could make it back to be displayed in Ireland to mark the Irish connection but unfortunately I’d think that is unlikely,” he said.
Richard Paterson, master blender at Whyte and Mackay, whose company supplied the Mackinlay’s whisky for Shackleton, described the find as “a gift from the heavens”.
“If the contents can be confirmed, safely extracted and analysed, the original blend may be able to be replicated,” said Mr Paterson, who is nicknamed “the Nose” due to his blending skills.
“Given the original recipe no longer exists, this may open a door into history. We look forward to working with the trust to try and replicate the whisky for mutual benefit, allow people to taste a true part of history and be part of what must be the whisky story of the century,” he said.
Whyte and Mackay has been assisting the New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust since they were informed of the discovery in November, providing advice as to how to preserve the integrity of the cases, the bottles and the whisky itself.
Sir Ernest Shackleton, the great polar explorer, was born at Kilkea House, near Athy, Co Kildare, in 1874.