Antarctica Whiskey

[kickert]

Not really sure where to post this, but I found this article interesting. It is a story about Earnest Shackleton's whiskey from 1909 that was buried in ice and only now being uncovered. At the time, it was a 10yr old Scotch.

I would be willing to sample it... for quality control purposes of course....

http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/shackleton-s-whisky-finally-sees-daylight-3700051

[DeanSheen]

If I read that correctly it seems a waste that after samples are drawn it's going back to the ice that it came from.

Whats the point of that?

[kickert]

If I read that correctly it seems a waste that after samples are drawn it's going back to the ice that it came from.

Whats the point of that?

I was under the impression that a small sample would be drawn, the bottles would be preserved by this New Zealand museum the the crates (minus the bottles) would be returned. That might not have been in this article I posted... I read a few about it.

Even then though you can ask: "what's the point."

[Bourbon Boiler]

I saw this link yesterday, it was published back in Feb.

http://www.aolnews.com/world/article/ernest-shackletons-whiskey-found-buried-near-south-pole/19347440

It mentions that artifacts cannot be removed from Antarctica under international treaty.

[kickert]

The whole talk of trying to replicate the "lost recipe" seems a bit bogus to me.

[Bourbon Boiler]

The whole talk of trying to replicate the "lost recipe" seems a bit bogus to me.

[kickert]

There are people on the board that understand the process better than I would, but I would guess the mashbill could be dupliacted, but the yeast strain would be a bit difficult.

My biggest thing is that there is no way to know what it would have tasted like when it was produced by drinking something that is now 100 years old.

[silverfish]

The whole talk of trying to replicate the "lost recipe" seems a bit bogus to me.

Well, according to Whisky Intelligence: Whyte & Mackay has successfully

recreated the century-old whisky buried under the Antarctic ice by famous

explorer Ernest Shackleton.

The company’s master blender Richard Paterson spent a painstaking eight

weeks marrying and blending a range of malts to get an exact replica of the

100-year-old Mackinlay’s liquid.

And according to one independent expert, he has got the copy exactly

right.

Renowned whisky writer Dave Broom is the only other person in the world to

taste both the original whisky and Whyte & Mackay’s new liquid.

He said: “The Shackleton whisky is not what I expected at all, and not

what anyone would have expected. It’s so light, so fresh, so delicate and

still in one piece – it’s a gorgeous whisky.

“I think the replication is absolutely bang on. Richard has done a great job

as it’s a very tricky whisky to replicate, because you have this delicacy,

subtlety and the smoke just coming through."

Tasting notes and additional info at the link above.

[Rughi]

...Richard Paterson...according to one independent expert, he has got the copy exactly

right.

Ben's point remains.

Paterson can perfectly emulate what that whisky is now, not what it was a century ago.

Roger

[sku]

Wow, a whiskey that tastes sort of like another whiskey.

[silverfish]

WhiskyIntelligence has tasting notes if anyone is interested in reading

what they have to say. WI gives it a score of 88 points.

[Brisko]

Ben's point remains.

Paterson can perfectly emulate what that whisky is now, not what it was a century ago.

Roger

But is there any reason to think it has changed appreciably in the bottles, especially given that the cold temperatures should theoretically slow any oxidation significantly?

/not a rhetorical question

[silverfish]

If anyone is interested in buying the Shackleton "recreation",

SV has it available for $145./bottle.

"Let me make one thing perfectly clear. This Mackinlay's is not the

actual whisky they found in the permafrost. It's a "replica" release,

which means the distillery blended the whisky to taste exactly like

this historic Scotch. Only 500 bottles were released into the US

and I was lucky to get more than my fair share. I can honestly say

this is one of the best packages I have seen in a long time."

Limited to 50,000 bottles.

Malt Advocate Rating: 92pts

[Bourbon Boiler]

It would probably be interesting to taste, but it obviously hasn't aged long and there's no reason for it to be rare, particularly if it is well liked. I'd be interested in reading a trained tounge's take on how well they reproduced the find.

[sku]

A blended Scotch malt for $145 because it's supposed to taste like a really old and really cold whiskey that was accidentally found in Antarctica. This sounds like satire.