THE legendary whiskey discovered under ice is now being served around it.
Shackleton Blended Malt Scotch Whisky goes on a tour around the Metro via a mobile “iceberg museum,” where the temperature can drop to as low as -15 degrees Celsius.
According to Shackleton Brand Manager Pia Bonalos-Mercado, the idea is to bring the Antarctic experience closer to whiskey aficionados, much like how the drink was enjoyed by a group of polar explorers over a century ago.
In 1907, British adventurer Sir Ernest Shackleton made a daring attempt to become the first man to reach furthest south in the South Pole. Facing bitter winds, days of total darkness and the perils of unknown terrain midway into the expedition, Sir Ernest decided to abandon the quest just 97 miles short of their destination. The group raced against time toward safety and left behind all their supplies at their base camp in Cape Royds, including three crates of Mackinlay’s Rare Old Highland Malt Whisky.
One hundred years after the failed expedition, in 2007, members of the New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust carried out conservation work on Shackleton’s expedition hut, where they discovered the abandoned crates.
Master Blender Richard Paterson, known in the spirits industry as “The Nose” for his unparalleled expertise, was tasked to recreate the special find. He reproduced the actual Mackinlay’s whisky taken from the ill-fated 1907 expedition and helped create the Shackleton Blended Malt Scotch Whisky. The drink is noted for a mixture of vanilla, cinnamon and ginger on the nose, with a dark sugar/glazed pineapple taste and hot mulled wine finish, topped off with a whisper of bonfire smoke.
“I don’t know if anybody else could have created a more faithful representation of that whiskey,” said Emperador Inc. Executive Director Kendrick L. Tan of Paterson, the master blender of Whyte & Mackay, the Scottish alcoholic beverages company now owned by Emperador Inc., a subsidiary of Alliance Global Group.
Shackleton is the first blended malt brand to join Whyte & Mackay’s portfolio as a permanent offering. Tan said that of the three variants of whiskey—single malt, blended scotch and blended malt—they are the only players in blended malt, which uses no grain that can “hamper the enjoyment of whiskey.”
“It’s 100 percent malt,” he added.
The first destination of the roving iceberg museum is at Landers Arcovia in Pasig City, followed by stops at other Landers branches around the Metro and in a number of Megaworld Lifestyle Malls properties. Updates on the tour will be posted on the Shackleton Whiskey account on Instagram and Facebook.