New Zealand PM returns Shackelton’s rare whisky stash to Antarctic hut
By The Associated Press - Saturday, January 19, 2013 - 0 Comments
SCOTTBASE, Antarctica – Talk about whisky on ice: Three bottles of rare, 19th century…
SCOTTBASE, Antarctica – Talk about whisky on ice: Three bottles of rare, 19th century Scotch found beneath the floor boards of Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackelton’s abandoned expedition base were returned to the polar continent Saturday after a distiller flew them to Scotland to recreate the long-lost recipe.
But not even New Zealand Prime Minister John Key, who personally returned the stash, got a taste of the contents of the bottles of Mackinlay’s whisky, which were rediscovered 102 years after the explorer was forced to leave them behind.
“I think we’re all tempted to crack it open and have a little drink ourselves now,” Key joked at a ceremony handing over the bottles to Antarctic Heritage Trust officials at New Zealand’s Antarctic base on Ross Island.
