Mackinlay’s Shackleton Rare Old Highland Malt The Journey (70cl, 47.3%)
$199.00
The 2007 discovery of whisky left in Antarctica by Sir Ernest Shackleton during his famous expedition in the early 1900s led to Richard ‘The Nose’ Paterson using all his skill and experience to recreate this historic whisky, raising £250,000 for the Antarctic Heritage Trust in the process.
Approached by the charity and Alexandra Shackleton (Ernest’s grand-daughter) to produce a second edition of his blended malt to coincide with Tim Jarvis’ Shackleton Epic (the first authentic re-enactment of Shackleton’s extraordinary Antarctic survival journey of 1916), how could Paterson refuse?
Digging out another rare cask of Glen Mhor (an even older one, this time from 1980), as well as some heavily-peated Dalmore(!), he once again recreated the Shackleton whisky, also using malts from Glenfarclas, Mannochmore, Tamnavulin, Ben Nevis, Aultmore, Fettercairn, Pulteney and Jura.
The resulting masterpiece of blending offers something different, whilst clearly coming from the same lineage as his first lovingly recreated malt. A new and critically-acclaimed interpretation of a truly classic whisky.
Tasting Note
Nose: Crushed apple again for sure, more floral notes too. Freshly baked crusty bread loaf, lemonade. The more delicate top notes initially hide a complex mix of engine oil, Cornflakes, dumplings, makrut lime and orange rind.
Palate: Oily and mouth coating but perhaps lighter than expected if you take the time to really immerse yourself in the nose. Orange syrup sings through with that gorgeous peated Dalmore.
Finish: Fresh bread and those little European biscuits you get with your coffee.
Overall: A comforting and old fashioned blended malt. Enjoyable and different to almost anything available today, this is a rugged, yet refined whisky. Given a free choice of spirits to see you through a tough Antarctic expedition, this really would take some beating.
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