whisky Archives - Winervana

By Spirits Contributor Neal Kotlarek

Looking for a good story to tell your house guests over an after-dinner drink? MacKinlay’s Rare Old Highland Malts are re-creations of the original malt whisky shipped to Antarctica in 1907 by explorer Ernest Shackleton on his “Nimrod” expedition.

In 2007, a century after the expedition, three cases of the perfectly preserved whisky were discovered, frozen into the ice beneath Shackleton’s base camp at Cape Royds.

In 2011, three of the discovered bottles were excavated and flown to New Zealand where they were carefully thawed by the New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust in a purpose-built environment and public gallery at Canterbury Museum. Following scientific analysis and replication, malts from Glen Mhor and Dalmore distilleries were selected and combined with others to create a blend that is, according to the MacKinlay website “light honey in colour with an aroma that is soft, elegant and refined, and a taste that is both harmonious and exhilarating.”

My personal view is that the whisky is as fabulous as the tale behind its presentation. The bottle is raffia-encased, reminiscent of the straw-bound bottles found in the Antarctic. The label graphics are meticulously hand drawn to ensure a perfect match to the original.

https://www.theshackletonwhisky.com/

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Every once in awhile I like to take a a wee nip of Scotch whiskey just as variety from the grape. So when I received word of this single malt, it seemed like an opportune time to tickle the taste buds. The Singleton of Glendullan is the object of interest here, and a fine example of Scotland’s most famous region for single malts, Speyside.

The Glendullan distillery was founded in Dufftown, Speyside in 1897, and the distillery receives its pure waters from the River Dullian, a tributary of the Spey River. The whiskey is matured for 12 years in used oak casks from both American bourbon and European sherry. The combination creates a well-balanced, rich tasting malt that can be enjoyed as a cocktail before dinner or as an after dinner treat. It has a semi-crisp taste that is refreshing and even zingy without being overpowering, an excellent choice for those not yet ready to try some of the heavier Scotch offerings.

Although I’m not much interested in numerical ratings here at Winervana, they certainly do exist elsewhere. In a blind tasting conducted by the Beverage Tasting Institute, The Singleton scored a 92-point rating. They rank that as “exceptional,” and The Singleton outscored traditional category leaders such as Macallan 12 (90 rating), Glenlivet 12( 88), and Glenfiddich 12 (86), for what it’s worth.

https://www.thesingleton.com/?ds_e=GOOGLE&ds_c=B:+Singleton+Of+Glendullan_Exact_EN_US&ds_k=the+singleton+of+Glendullan&gclid=Cj0KCQiA5dPuBRCrARIsAJL7oegsuzrNuj1zmBDCeqPwZqu2nTQrk1yxrpiTVFdflBVF3uHUt7VBtR8aAjb-EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

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A Note About Vintages

Although you will see vintage dates throughout Winervana, I don’t put too much importance on them. Major producers these days strive for a consistent style, and largely succeed. For instance, when shopping for a particular wine, if you have a choice between a current release and one that’s a few years old, there will certainly be differences in price and the character of the wine. But upon release, those two examples of the same wine are likely to be quite similar, especially for New World producers, who often enjoy more reliably consistent weather than Old World producers do. (Of course, global climate change may disrupt things for everybody.)

Wine Enthusiast has an interesting post about this here.

Tag: whisky

MacKinlay’s Shackleton Whisky

The Singleton of Glendullan