Shackleton's Whisky: Liquid History

Name: Mackinlay's Rare and Old Highland Malt Whisky (Shackleton's Whisky)

(Re)created by: Whyte & Mackay's Master Blender Richard Paterson

Type: Blended Malt

Age Statement: Nil

Alc/Vol: 47.3%

It's not everyday that a story as rich as the Shackleton's Whisky comes around in the whisky world. To be honest, one can say that the story itself is as much the reason to try it as the whisky itself! Two weeks ago, The Auld Alliance was proud to receive stock of Whyte & Mackay's special recreation of Mackinlay's Rare and Old Highland Malt Whisky, which was recovered from the South Pole and brought back to Scotland for the purpose of re-creating the whisky that was drunk more than a century ago.

The story of this special Mackinlay's whisky starts with this man: 

Credit: clichegt.blogspot.com

Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton was one of leading figures in what history terms the 'Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration'. An Anglo-Irish by descent, he was part of several expeditions that aimed at reaching the geographical South Pole of the globe. One of his most famous expeditions was the 1907 Nimrod Expedition where he and three companions established a then record by getting within 190km from the geographical South Pole. It was also during this famous expedition that our Shackleton's Whisky comes in. Well aware of the need for anything that will keep them warm in the frigid temperatures of the Antarctic, Shackleton brought quite a bit of liquor there, including a few crates of the Mackinlay's Old and Rare Whisky. When the expedition left the South Pole a few years later, these crates were left behind in the hut that the members of the expedition stayed in during their time there.

Fast forward to the present and in 2010, researchers at the South Pole managed to uncover these crates of whisky. More impressively though, these whiskies were still intact, with liquid heard sloshing around, always a good sign! The Antarctic Heritage Trust, who manages these invaluable pieces of heritage in the South Pole, allowed for the whisky to leave its Antarctic home and be brought up to Scotland where Richard Paterson of Whyte & Mackay (who now owns the Mackinlay brand) set about the painstaking task of re-creating this piece of liquid history. In 2011, Whyte & Mackay were proud to announce that they had successfully re-created the whisky, affectionately called Shackleton's Whisky, and it would be produced for the mass market!

And there you have it, a whisky over 100 years in the making, and it has finally made its way from Scotland to the South Pole, back to Scotland, and now to Sunny Singapore, where its re-creation is available for all to see and, of course, taste! So let's go on and taste this beauty!

Nose: Teasingly rich and salty. Notes of rich sea salt and that sweet saltiness that comes from egg yolks in a mooncake! Notes of barley and cream with the softest note of smoke. Great nose! (24)

Taste: Creamy, salty and sweet with a lovely ashy smokiness at the back. Strong maltiness with the sweet flavour of the egg yolk in lotus paste coming forward again! Light hints of honey and smoky sweetness as well (22)

Finish: Dry and slightly woody with the ashy feel again. Slight notes of fruit (21)

Overall: A great nose with an interesting flavour. It is great to try just to know what whisky tasted like all those years ago. In many ways, this is a must try simply for the curiosity and novelty value, but the fact that it is a decent whisky by any standards says something! (22) 89/100

Found At: The Auld Alliance