How Does Whiskey Fare After 100 Years of Antarctic Conditions?

It’s widely agreed upon that a nicely aged bottle of wine tends to taste a lot better than one bottled within the previous year, but what about other alcohols, such as whiskey? Thanks to an amazing discovery that occurred last year, we should soon know the answer to that question.

In 1908, British explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton, hit with the failed attempt of reaching the south pole, created a cache and stored numerous items inside, which included a lot of liquor. Last year, this cache was discovered and three ice-cold bottles of Mackinlay’s was brought back. Despite being stored in perfect ice-cold natural conditions for over 100 years, the whiskey inside was still liquid.

Currently, the bottles are in the hands of Whyte and Mackay, the owners of the Mackinlay’s brand. Its expert tester is the one who’s heading the investigation to see just how the whiskey fared over such a long period of time. There will be taste tests, of course, in addition to smell and other tests.

I’m not a major fan of whiskey, I admit, but this discovery is cool, and it will help those who produce the liquor to understand its characteristics when subjected to such pro-longed storage.

Richard Paterson, Whyte and Mackay’s master blender, said the analysis would be “for the benefit of the whisky industry”. “Never in the history of our industry have we had a century-old bottle of whisky stored in a natural fridge and subjected to some of the harshest conditions on this planet,” he said. “It is an absolute honour to be able to use my experience to analyse this amazing spirit.”