Drillers seek Scotch lost in Antarctica in 1909

[guitar man]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33964571/

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - A beverage company has asked a team to drill through Antarctica's ice for a lost cache of some vintage Scotch whiskey that has been on the rocks since a century ago.

The drillers will be trying to reach two crates of McKinlay and Co. whiskey that were shipped to the Antarctic by British polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton as part of his abandoned 1909 expedition.

Whyte & Mackay, the drinks group that now owns McKinlay and Co., has asked for a sample of the 100-year-old scotch for a series of tests that could decide whether to relaunch the now-defunct Scotch.


100 year old scotch? I'd test it for them :evilgrin:

[donco6]

1. Is it already bottled?

How can it be 100 yr old then - doesn't that have to stay in the casks to age?

[KittyWampus]

8. left by Shackleton

[sharp_stick]

13. It's under Shakeltons shed

I saw a pic of it a couple of weeks ago. It should still be drinkable unless the corks have rotted away I'd think.

[RaleighNCDUer]

16. Things don't tend to rot in Antarctica.

It should be fine.

[guitar man]

22. yeah

I bet it's very fine :)

[Craftsman]

2. I volunteer for this valuable research

THE LIVER IS EVIL AND NEEDS TO BE PUNISHED!!!!!!

[Cal Carpenter]

4. Oh great, like I needed another excuse to enjoy scotch!

Damn that liver! LOL

[ddeclue]

3. If the Greenland Expedition Society is any clue, those bottles are crushed.

http://www.p38.com/green.htm

[Craftsman]

7. Maybe no, snowfall in many part of Antartica is real low

1 inch or so a year in some places

[Botany]

5. I think the testing might start very quick

[Bonhomme Richard]

6. If you get a chance to read about Shackleton please do.

It's a great read and the guy was a true hero to his shipmates.

[lunatica]

9. Weren't those the seamen who died of lead poisoning?

They abandoned the ship because they were stuck in the ice but they ate canned food which is what killed them because of the lead in the cans. I hope they find the Scotch.

[sharp_stick]

12. I think you're thinking of

the Franklin Expedition looking for the NW Passage. Another truly fascinating story. They actually dug up some of the bodies and performed an autopsy to find the lead poisoning. NOVA did a program in the late 80s about it too I think.

[lunatica]

17. Thanks! I saw a documentary that describes what you say

It must have been NOVA.

[smalll]

10. Maybe they should just start by bombing Antarctica, to see if any scotch particles emerge --

on the other hand, that could be very risky, as it may cause Antarctica to crack and split into two separate, new continents. And who would want that to happen? For one thing, it would probably mess with the tides, at least for a little while. :shrug:

[closeupready]

14. Unless they could somehow re-freeze it back into a single ice cube.

Maybe moving the Earth away from its orbit for a day?

[Soylent Brice]

11. and i will gladly join you.

:beer:

[Yuugal]

15. "lost cache of some vintage Scotch whiskey"

Funny how good scotch gets "lost" alot when its not under lock and key, huh? My bet is they find a bunch of empty bottles next to some frozen guy with a big smile on his face. :)

[DrDan]

18. I stand ready to assist . . . . please send me a sample of 100-year -old scotch also

[donco6]

19. It won't be worth finding.

Unless it's stored in oak barrels and not bottled. Scotch is not "aged" unless it's still in the barrels. That's what imbues the flavor and color. If it's already been bottled - it's just really old, bottled scotch. ho hum.

[B3Nut]

20. Nothing wrong with old and bottled whisky

provided it hasn't suffered cork taint. Yes, it stops aging once bottled. At some point, you want this...there's such a thing as over-aging, the whisky can get too woody (even more noticeable in American whiskies which use new charred oak barrels rather than reused bourbon barrels or sherry casks like Scotch whisky producers use.) This scotch was already aged and bottled. So yes, most likely it will be worth finding, as any whisky hound who has gone "dusty-hunting" can attest. :)

Todd in Cheesecurdistan

[dysfunctional press]

21. they admit that it won't have aged any...

"Richard Paterson, Whyte & Mackay's master blender, said the Shackleton expedition's whiskey could still be drinkable and taste exactly as it did 100 years ago."

[Libertas1776]

23. Will Ron Burgundy be accompanying them?

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_htDAd00DBGg/SUmTnok4nsI/AAAAAAAABng/onDeC2AK2tc/s400/Ron+Burgundy_Scotch.jpg
I love scotch. scotchy scotch scotch. Here it goes, down down into my belly...

[LostInAnomie]

24. Wouldn't be as tasty as a lot pf people think it would.

Once it's bottled, it stops aging. If the bottle was opened, I bet it would tastes like shit.

[Initech]

25. I can certainly try some of it for them!

:toast:

[MilesColtrane]

26. I'd bet that some of this stuff finds its way onto the market.

The super-rich are running out of things to buy, and that $38,000-a-bottle Macallan 1926 has been sold out for awhile now.