Whiskey of the Month #8: Mackinlay's Rare Old Highland Malt

Kids, we've got a special one this month, courtesy of Father Cigar.  You see once upon a time, there was a guy called Ernest Shackleton who wanted to lead an expedition to the South Pole.  It didn't go all that way and he ended up leaving three crates of whiskey buried under a hut in the Antarctic because he was in such a hurry to get the heck out of there and get back to somewhere, well, warm.  A century later, the New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust dug them up and this beautiful thing resulted:

From the back of the label:

The Enduring Spirit

There is a lot of story to be told in this one bottle of Mackinlay's Rare Old Highland Malt. A meticulous re-creation of the original whiskey shipped to Antarctica in 1907 by Shackleton to fortify his 'Nimrod' expedition, this rare spirit has been a long time in the making.   Abandoned to the Antarctic winter in early 1909, five wooden crates of Shackleton's malt were buried deep in the ice beneath the expedition hut.  Unearthed almost a century later by the New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust, a single crate was flown to Cantebury Museum in New Zealand for careful preservation.  Heralded as 'a gift from heaven for whiskey lovers,' the long lost malt provided the inspiration for this faithful recreation of both the whiskey, using contemporary aged stocks and its distinctive packaging presentation. The result celebrates the unique character of both man and malt.  It commemorates the enduring spirit of another time. 

The story of the recreation of the whiskey is a fascinating one and if you're cynical, you could argue that its little more than a marketing ploy but its one hell of a marketing ploy, I'll give them that.  Last year, Father Cigar put the word out on the family street that if any of us found a place that sold this lovely stuff to let him know right away.  As it happened on a trip to Minneapolis last year, we stopped off at the Haskell's near the Nicolett Mall and I spied a crate on the shelf and $200 later, Father Cigar had his whiskey.

Yes, that's right- $200- this stuff is not cheap but if you're a seriously lover of whiskey and have money to splurge, you can't get much better than this fascinating bottle with a fascinating story behind it.  And as a bonus, it tastes damn good as well.

Color: Honey/golden in color-- lighter shades

Body: Smokey with sweeter undertones-  maybe toffee?

Palate: Notes of honey and brown sugar with a hint of toffee- has a syrupy texture to it which is just about perfect.  It's not heavy on the tongue, nor does it feel watery.  If there's an ideal viscosity for whiskey, the Mackinlay hits the sweet spot.

Finish:  Has a beautiful warming sensation.  There's some smokiness that's common in Islays but it's balanced out so what results is an almost peppery spice going down that warms you right up.

Overall:  Kids, I'm not normally one for Islays but occasionally, you get a craving for something nice and smokey- sometimes you go all out and get a Laphroig or a Lagavulin but sometimes you just want a little bit of smoke and a little bit of sweet and the Mackinlay manages to balance them both perfectly.  You can see why Shackleton took crates of this stuff to the Antarctic with him immediately.  While it's not a whiskey I'm going to run out and buy every month (at $200 a pop it's a wee bit pricey) but if you're a serious drinker and a serious fan of whiskey then this is a must buy.  After all, you only live once.