Sir Ernest Shackleton, British Explorer, set sail for Antarctica in 1907; his small ship, the Nimrod was stocked with rations including 25 cases of Mackinlay’s Rare Old Highland Malt Whisky.

In January 2010, over a century later, Antarctica Heritage Trust conservators found three crates encased in ice under Shackleton’s Antarctic base. One crate was flown to New Zealand to be carefully thawed by the Trust in a purpose-built environment at Canterbury Museum. Eleven bottles of the 114-year-old whisky were revealed, still sheathed in their paper and straw packaging. After delicate conservation, the then owner of Whyte & Mackay (which owns the Mackinlay brand), flew to New Zealand to see the extraordinary find. Under permit from the New Zealand Government, he transported three bottles to Scotland on his private jet for scientific analysis by Whyte & Mackay and the Scotch Whisky Research Institute.

World renowned Master Blender, Richard Paterson, carried out painstaking sensory and chemical analysis to establish the flavour and composition of a product created over a century earlier. Shackleton Whisky is a recreation of the style of whisky Shackleton took to Antarctica.

A contribution is made from the sale of each bottle to New Zealand based charity The Antarctic Heritage Trust.