That's the spirit! Cases of Mackinlay's 'Rare Old' scotch whisky have been recovered from the ice outside Shackleton's Antarctic hut. What will it taste like?

After some hype and anticipation news has emerged that the crates of whisky long suspected to have been entombed by ice outside Sir Ernest Shackleton's Antarctic hut have finally been recovered.

A team from the New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust have managed to extract five cases, three of Chas Mackinlay & Co's whisky and two containing brandy made by the Hunter Valley Distillery Limited, Allandale (Australia), which were abandoned by the expedition in 1909 as encroaching sea ice forced a hasty departure.

Anything related to Shackleton's abortive 1907 attempt to reach the south pole is as steeped in emotive significance as the ice which surrounded the cases was in whisky. His most famous exploit, an 800 mile voyage in an open lifeboat across the southern ocean in 1916, was a manly feat which made him the boyhood hero of generations of British blokes. Even the string vest he wore on that occasion is a carefully preserved relic.

To find the actual whisky favoured by this ultimate man's man is one thing, to taste the essence of death-defying, pipe-smoking, god-among-men masculinity will be quite another. Extracting the whisky may not be as simple as it sounds as inevitably ice has got into the cases and broken at least some of the bottles, and if the corks have come into contact with the alcohol they will have degenerated. Hopes are high however as liquid can be heard sloshing about inside the boxes and the steady, if chilly, temperature should have helped to preserve the spirit.



Unsurprisingly, Whyte & Mackay, who bought the Mackinlay's distillery, are riding the testosterone wave of publicity. Richard Paterson, their master blender, described the find as "a gift from the heavens" for whisky lovers and they hope to recreate the lost blend if the heritage regulations which govern the removal of historical objects from Antarctica will allow a sample to return home to Scotland. Which begs the question why, if this represents the apogee of manly whisky drinking perfection, Mackinlay's 'Rare Old' was discontinued. What, we wonder, does it taste like?

According to Paterson, the answer is 'cold' - which is probably how that gag leaves most of us. On his blog he explains that "whiskies back then – a harder age – were all quite heavy and peaty as that was the style", so presumably more smoky and less hot and peppery than some lighter modern styles. Sounds pretty good.

Other foodstuffs are preserved inside and outside Shackleton's hut, including (according to this excellent blogpost) "dried spinach, mint, stewed kidneys, oxtail soup, India relish, mutton cutlets in tomato sauce, Irish brawn, marrow fat, stewed rump steaks, tripe, concentrated egg powder, kippered mackerel, minced collops, and red currants ... there's also the Antarctic classic, pemmican: dried meat mixed with fat, available in varieties for men and dogs."

If you were stranded and needed something to soak up the scotch, what would tea be?