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New Zealand museum thaws 100-year-old whisky
The Telegraph ^ | 7/22/2010

Posted on 07/24/2010 5:20:35 PM PDT by bruinbirdman

A crate of Scotch whisky that has been frozen in Antarctic ice for more than a century is being slowly thawed by New Zealand museum officials.

The crate of whisky was recovered earlier this year - along with four other crates containing whisky and brandy - beneath the floor of a hut built by British explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton during his 1908 Antarctic expedition.

Four of the crates were left in the ice, but one labelled Mackinlay's whisky was brought to the Canterbury Museum in Christchurch on New Zealand's South Island, where officials said it was being thawed in a controlled environment.

Nigel Watson, executive director of the New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust, said the whisky might still be liquid.

"When the guys were lifting it, they reported the sound of sloshing and there was a smell of whisky in the freezer, so it is all boding pretty well," he said.

An Antarctic Heritage Trust team that was restoring the explorer's hut found the crates in 2006 but couldn't immediately dislodge them because they were too deeply embedded in the ice.

Drinks group Whyte & Mackay, the Scottish distillery that now owns the Mackinlay's brand, launched the bid to recover the whisky for samples to test and potentially use to relaunch the defunct Scotch.

Mr Watson said the whisky may still be drinkable but would probably not be tasted.

"This was a blend so they are hopeful if there is enough alcohol left and it is in good condition they may be able to analyse and hopefully replicate the liquid so in fact everyone could partake in this," he said.

"It has been put on ice for 100 years so I don't think it is too unromantic a suggestion. The reality is that it is very limited

(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: antarctic; antarctica; ernestshackleton; godsgravesglyphs; newzealand; oenology; scotch; shackleton; zymurgy
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1 posted on 07/24/2010 5:20:37 PM PDT by bruinbirdman
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To: sionnsar

Scotch ping!


2 posted on 07/24/2010 5:22:12 PM PDT by Tax-chick ("I hate other cultures. Everyone is rude and they never wash or use deodorant."~Anoreth)
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To: bruinbirdman

I’ll drink to that!


3 posted on 07/24/2010 5:23:00 PM PDT by kosciusko51
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To: bruinbirdman

Ded Kennedy just sat up in his grave!


4 posted on 07/24/2010 5:23:42 PM PDT by digger48 (and)
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To: bruinbirdman

Neat - hold the ice.


5 posted on 07/24/2010 5:26:03 PM PDT by Gene Eric (Your Hope has been redistributed. Here's your Change.)
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To: bruinbirdman

Oh, Man! And they didn’t invite me.


6 posted on 07/24/2010 5:27:48 PM PDT by YHAOS (you betcha!)
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To: Tainan; mstar; Twotone; Knitting A Conundrum; ThanhPhero; Julia H.; DuncanWaring; snuffy smiff; ...
I'd drink (to) that! Thanks to Tax-chick for the ping.

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7 posted on 07/24/2010 5:29:24 PM PDT by sionnsar (IranAzadi|5yst3m 0wn3d-it's N0t Y0ur5:SONY|TV--it's NOT news you can trust)
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To: Tax-chick
"Shackleton's expedition ran short of supplies on its long ski trek to the South Pole from the northern Antarctic coast in 1907-1909 and turned back about 100 miles short of its goal."

Is "northern" Antarctic coast redundant in the same sentence with South Pole as the reference?

yitbos

8 posted on 07/24/2010 5:30:15 PM PDT by bruinbirdman ("Those who control language control minds.")
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To: bruinbirdman
the whisky may still be drinkable but would probably not be tasted.

Yeah, sure, and you can leave your daughter here with me, too.

/johnny

9 posted on 07/24/2010 5:36:35 PM PDT by JRandomFreeper (Gone Galt)
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To: bruinbirdman
talk about aged Scotch whiskey...
10 posted on 07/24/2010 5:43:56 PM PDT by Chode (American Hedonist *DTOM* -ww- NO Pity for the LAZY)
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To: JRandomFreeper
I still remember watching a Jacques Cousteau episode when I was a little kid . . . they found an "intact" amphora of wine while diving on some Greek or Roman wreck. Darnit if they didn't crack that sucker and take turns pouring it down their throats. They didn't even wait to strip out of their wetsuits. I still chuckle thinking about it.

2000-year-old vinegar, probably mixed with saltwater. And they pounded it just to say they did.

11 posted on 07/24/2010 5:46:30 PM PDT by 1rudeboy
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To: bruinbirdman

Alcohol does not freeze.


12 posted on 07/24/2010 5:46:39 PM PDT by EggsAckley ( There's an Ethiopian in the fuel supply!)
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To: bruinbirdman
Ernest Shackleton

Fine whiskey is a special thing. But God only made one Ernest Shackleton.

13 posted on 07/24/2010 5:51:34 PM PDT by outofstyle (Anti-socialist)
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To: JRandomFreeper
Now, what is the point of having scotch, but not drinking scotch? It's all so uncivilized.
14 posted on 07/24/2010 5:51:51 PM PDT by fhayek
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To: EggsAckley

Yup, I put all my whiskey in the freezer to pre chill it before pouring it over the rocks. It never freezes.


15 posted on 07/24/2010 5:53:10 PM PDT by HerrBlucher (In the White House the mighty White House the Liar sleeps tonight.............)
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To: bruinbirdman

MMMMMMMMM 100 year old whiskey....My Ice Cubes are getting dry.....would go nice with a Pre-Castro Cuban cigar....


16 posted on 07/24/2010 5:53:16 PM PDT by jakerobins
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To: EggsAckley

Of course it does. Everything freezes. For pure ethanol, its freezing point would be -114 degrees C. Dress warmly and wear your mittens.


17 posted on 07/24/2010 5:56:34 PM PDT by centurion316
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To: EggsAckley

Yes, it does. But at -173F, which is a tad too cold for neat. Dry ice won’t solidify it, but liquid nitrogen will. And you have to admit that serving drinks with grain alcohol ice cubes would impress just about anyone.


18 posted on 07/24/2010 5:58:23 PM PDT by yefragetuwrabrumuy
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To: bruinbirdman
Is "northern" Antarctic coast redundant in the same sentence with South Pole as the reference?

No matter how far south you go one side of the land mass is going to be the North side. The arctic, after all, has a southern coast.

19 posted on 07/24/2010 6:01:42 PM PDT by calex59
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To: Chode
Once out of the cask, the aging process, for all intents and purposes, is over. A bottle should be saved, unopened to honor Shackleton, but I have no doubt that Mr. Shackleton would have no objections to us survivors in the 21st century raising a toast to the explorer in his memory with the remaining stock. The whisky, preserved as it was, should still be magnificent
20 posted on 07/24/2010 6:02:13 PM PDT by fhayek
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