Now THIS is how science is supposed to be done. Cases of whiskey make the field season much more enjoyable.

That's a lot better than whiskery teens in South Pole jackets looking for crack.

Brilliant way for a come back.

Is this a repeat, or a follow-up?

Approves.

Ok, if you're willing to go that far for a drink, you just might have a problem. Get help.

I give it another year before we hear about the rest of those bottles going missing.

I would have to imagine they would be worth BIG bucks on the black market.

FloydA: That's a lot better than whiskery teens in South Pole jackets looking for crack.

+1

/I was gonna go with whiskey team headed north to the North Pole to look for crack

schattenteufel: Is this a repeat, or a follow-up?

Follow up. The first expedition found the whiskey. This one will actually retrieve it and then get drunk coming home and likely crash land into Africa.

schattenteufel [TotalFark] Quote 2009-11-16 01:11:08 PM
Is this a repeat, or a follow-up?

Yes.

"There I was at the South Pole, working the whiskey mines of Antarctica..."

Those Kiwis will go to any length for some whisky.

I am so incredibly for this.

I will also volunteer my time, and expertise as a qualified tester.

GIMME WHISKEY!

This is a good idea. There are enough of you sheep out there living cowardly lives of quiet desperation that need to medicate yourself with low-grade whiskey each night that replicating this intoxicant would probably be a worthwhile Endeavour.

In the past, aside from 4-5 books and one Kenneth Branagh vehicle, there hasn't been anyway to cash in on Shackleton's legacy. Much like eating tiger penis to fix a broken cock, the greasy masses will buy this stuff by the case in an ultimately impotent effort to try and have some of Shackleton's heroism rub off on them.

Idiots. Everyone knows the whiskey deposits are deep under the Arctic Ocean. That's the North Pole.

Everyone knows that wiskey (or other alcohol for that matter) doesn't "age" once it has been bottled, right? All of the "aging" comes from the type of wood the wiskey is originally stored in before botteling.

If anything the flavor will decrease with time.


/someone please correct me if my understanding is incorrect.

Balder333: Everyone knows that wiskey (or other alcohol for that matter) doesn't "age" once it has been bottled, right? All of the "aging" comes from the type of wood the wiskey is originally stored in before botteling.

If anything the flavor will decrease with time.


/someone please correct me if my understanding is incorrect.

You are correct, and the fact that it's been on ice means it hasn't aged any as well.

Earl of Chives: This is a good idea. There are enough of you sheep out there living cowardly lives of quiet desperation that need to medicate yourself with low-grade whiskey each night that replicating this intoxicant would probably be a worthwhile Endeavour.

In the past, aside from 4-5 books and one Kenneth Branagh vehicle, there hasn't been anyway to cash in on Shackleton's legacy. Much like eating tiger penis to fix a broken cock, the greasy masses will buy this stuff by the case in an ultimately impotent effort to try and have some of Shackleton's heroism rub off on them.

-1 I bet you're lots of fun to hang out with.

Wouldn't the bottles have frozen and all burst by now?

At what temperature does hard liquor freeze anyway? And doesn't it get that cold in Antarctica?

Which way were they last seen heading?

Balder333: Everyone knows that wiskey (or other alcohol for that matter) doesn't "age" once it has been bottled, right? All of the "aging" comes from the type of wood the wiskey is originally stored in before botteling.

If anything the flavor will decrease with time.


/someone please correct me if my understanding is incorrect.

I don't think they're looking for some super aged whisky here, the blend isn't made any more and the distiller wants a sample to try to recreate it. If anything, that it hasn't aged is a plus.

FTA:

Richard Paterson, Whyte & Mackay's master blender, said the Shackleton expedition's whisky could still be drinkable and taste exactly as it did 100 years ago.

If he can get a sample, he intends to replicate the old Scotch and put McKinlay whisky back on sale.

If this were my expedition, we'd locate the bottles, extricate em' and discover that Shackelford's crew were using them for chamberpots. The hard way.

Kareeshus: Wouldn't the bottles have frozen and all burst by now?

At what temperature does hard liquor freeze anyway? And doesn't it get that cold in Antarctica?

84 proof liquor freezes at -34.44°C (-30°F)
from Link (new window)

Balder333: Everyone knows that wiskey (or other alcohol for that matter) doesn't "age" once it has been bottled, right? All of the "aging" comes from the type of wood the wiskey is originally stored in before botteling.

If anything the flavor will decrease with time.


Think about what you just said. Aging is a process where unpalatable flavors are chemically altered to something desirable or something that doesn't register on the tongue at all. So if flavors decrease after bottling isn't that aging? It's a myth that once bottled alcoholic beverages cease to change. Otherwise why cellar wine bottles? One of the best drinks I ever had was a bottle of ordinary Jack Daniels that was left in the bar area of an apartment that had dozens of residents come and go over the years. I was the last new tenant and when it got down to just two of us, the other guy said "You know, nothing in that bar was mine." It turns out that like the couches and dishes everybody just assumed they belonged to whoever lived there the longest. We hit that bar like your daddy would hit a girl with pointy knees. Much of the lesser brands had skanked from being opened over the years but the unopened JD was every bit as satisfying as Johnny Blue.

/can I cool story bro myself?

dasc: /can I cool story bro myself?

No, though that doesn't stop a lot of farkers...

FTA:Only some bottles will be rescued in the drilling expedition - under Antarctic conservation guidelines, the rest must stay put.

That's stupid, I see why they have this for natural things but this is junk dropped by humans, what point is there in protecting bottles of whiskey in the ground.

And yes, I would be fore extricating crashed ships instead of leaving ship wrecks all over the ocean floor (unless it serves some natural purpose in the area like reef building)

Requesting retrospective hero tag.

StrikitRich: You are correct, and the fact that it's been on ice the rocks means it hasn't aged any as well.

FIFM....

danielem1: And yes, I would be fore extricating crashed ships instead of leaving ship wrecks all over the ocean floor (unless it serves some natural purpose in the area like reef building)

It depends on the situation. For a lot of people a wreck on the ocean floor is the only grave marker they're ever going to get. Some of those ships are as much tombs as a cemetery. Wiping that away removes any evidence that they ever existed.

what? no outrage that the explorer doesn't want to taste the whiskey, because it will ruin the imaginary whiskey he has already tasted in his mind...

Rage, damnit, RAGE

The drillers will be trying to reach two crates of McKinlay and Co. whisky that were shipped to the Antarctic by British polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton as part of his abandoned 1909 expedition.

I can't tell you how strange that all sounds, so I'll just let the aptly used "strange" tag speak for itself

danielem1:

That's stupid, I see why they have this for natural things but this is junk dropped by humans, what point is there in protecting bottles of whiskey in the ground.

And yes, I would be fore extricating crashed ships instead of leaving ship wrecks all over the ocean floor (unless it serves some natural purpose in the area like reef building)


In archaeological excavations, we usually leave a significant portion of the site unexcavated, for the sole reason that we know that the archaeologists of the future will have better techniques and more accurate and precise technology than we have today.

In the past, archaeologists used to tear through entire sites, looking for all of the "important" stuff like pottery and stone tools, and they threw away or pushed aside organic materials like charcoal, food wastes and plant fragments.

Today, charcoal can help us determine the age of a site, food wastes can tell us a lot about the ways that people made a living and plant fragments (seeds, pollen etc.) can tell us a lot about the local environment at the time the site was occupied. But we can't know any of those details from sites that were excavated in the 19th century because all of those materials were discarded.

If they had left part of the site unexcavated, we could look at it today and learn much more than they knew.

I'm sure our current techniques will look equally sloppy to the archaeologists of the future. But at least they will be able to apply their new techniques and technologies to the parts of the site that we didn't dig up.

I hope that helps explain the value of leaving at least some things where they are.

Ah, thees Grimes, he never breeng canteen, only wheek-skey. He think eet ees going to be easy.

They better get it before the residents of Mcmurdo base do:

http://www.drunkard.com/issues/08-04/08-04-southpole.htm (new window)

Scotch under Antarctic ice? The Laphroaig Fear? The McClelland's of Madness? The Call of Cardhu?

Earl of Chives: This is a good idea. There are enough of you sheep out there living cowardly lives of quiet desperation that need to medicate yourself with low-grade whiskey each night that replicating this intoxicant would probably be a worthwhile Endeavour.

In the past, aside from 4-5 books and one Kenneth Branagh vehicle, there hasn't been anyway to cash in on Shackleton's legacy. Much like eating tiger penis to fix a broken cock, the greasy masses will buy this stuff by the case in an ultimately impotent effort to try and have some of Shackleton's heroism rub off on them.

What's up - tiger ate your cock?

Still no cu......

F*** curing cancer!! GET MY DRINK!!!!!

thewoolybully: I don't think they're looking for some super aged whisky here, the blend isn't made any more and the distiller wants a sample to try to recreate it. If anything, that it hasn't aged is a plus.

Yah. They don't want super-aged whiskey, they want whiskey that isn't available from any other source right now.

Of course, this proves that if my great-grandparents had half a brain and gave a damn about me they would have laid down a few cases of the oldest whiskey they could afford, so that I could sell it for big bucks. Selfish bastards!

dasc: Much of the lesser brands had skanked from being opened over the years but the unopened JD was every bit as satisfying as Johnny Blue.

/can I cool story bro myself?

Bad story, bro. Who's going to go years with an unopened bottle of Jack?

To The Escape Zeppelin!: Earl of Chives: This is a good idea. There are enough of you sheep out there living cowardly lives of quiet desperation that need to medicate yourself with low-grade whiskey each night that replicating this intoxicant would probably be a worthwhile Endeavour.

In the past, aside from 4-5 books and one Kenneth Branagh vehicle, there hasn't been anyway to cash in on Shackleton's legacy. Much like eating tiger penis to fix a broken cock, the greasy masses will buy this stuff by the case in an ultimately impotent effort to try and have some of Shackleton's heroism rub off on them.

-1 I bet you're lots of fun to hang out with.

I will Endeavor to be more fun to "hang" with from now on.

Howz it hangin' bro? Did you watch your favorite footballing team yesterday? My team won over the other team! That means my city has better athletes living here because we pay them then the other city does. I got so drunk. You?


amidoinitright?

As someone currently located in McMurdo Station, Antarctica, I'm really getting a kick out of these replies...

pheed: As someone currently located in McMurdo Station, Antarctica, I'm really getting a kick out of these replies...

Srly? How's the weather?

Jument: pheed: As someone currently located in McMurdo Station, Antarctica, I'm really getting a kick out of these replies...

Srly? How's the weather?

And have you found any of the eight geocaches?

Would like some . . .

dasc: Balder333: Everyone knows that wiskey (or other alcohol for that matter) doesn't "age" once it has been bottled, right? All of the "aging" comes from the type of wood the wiskey is originally stored in before botteling.

If anything the flavor will decrease with time.


Think about what you just said. Aging is a process where unpalatable flavors are chemically altered to something desirable or something that doesn't register on the tongue at all. So if flavors decrease after bottling isn't that aging? It's a myth that once bottled alcoholic beverages cease to change. Otherwise why cellar wine bottles? One of the best drinks I ever had was a bottle of ordinary Jack Daniels that was left in the bar area of an apartment that had dozens of residents come and go over the years. I was the last new tenant and when it got down to just two of us, the other guy said "You know, nothing in that bar was mine." It turns out that like the couches and dishes everybody just assumed they belonged to whoever lived there the longest. We hit that bar like your daddy would hit a girl with pointy knees. Much of the lesser brands had skanked from being opened over the years but the unopened JD was every bit as satisfying as Johnny Blue.

My own anecdotal evidence would agree with you. My wife's brother and sister-in-law got a bottle of Cutty as a wedding gift and never opened it because they didn't like Scotch. Thirty years later I got my hands on it and found it to be the smoothest whisky I've ever enjoyed.

I have no wish to threadjack, but yes, seriously, Jument. The weather's not too bad. I decided yesterday that today would be my last day wearing thermal underwear. We hit +39F for a high and I was sweating my nuts off. I've been here since late August so this is the warmest it's been and it'll only get warmer through January or so. Mbooda, no I haven't found the geo-caches although that probably has something to do with the fact that I'm not carrying a GPS device. I have had a little fun. I went out to Cape Evans last week and I went on a dive trip with a BBC taping crew. They're making Frozen Planet which is the next chapter to Planet Earth. Some pictures here.

I have an unopened bottle of Crown Royal from 1965. So you're saying it's safe enough to drink?

Shackleton's story is fascinating and amazing. Check it out, you won't be disappointed.