A WHISKY that sustained explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton's ill-fated expedition to the South Pole a century ago is to be brought back to life by drilling a bottle out of the Antarctic ice. Whisky giant Whyte & Mackay has asked a team of New Zealand explorers to bring back a long-lost sample of McKinlay and Co whisky during a January polar expedition.

Two crates of the long- defunct "Rare Old" brand are frozen in the ice 97 miles from the pole, discarded by Shackleton and his men when they abandoned their 1909 polar mission. The crates were donated by McKinlay and Co, owned by Whyte & Mackay, to the pre-war expedition.

FOR those who like their dram chilled, it's perfect. A whisky that sustained explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton's ill-fated expedition to the South Pole a century ago has been drilled out of the Antarctic ice. Five crates buried under ice have been recovered by a heritage team restoring the explorer's hut. Al Fastier, the New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust team leader, yesterday said he believes some bottles are still intact.

The whisky was made by McKinlay and Co, and drinks group Whyte & Mackay has asked for a sample to carry out tests with a view to re-launching the brand. Although ice cracked some of the bottles, which had been left there in 1909, the restorers said they are confident the five crates contain intact bottles "given liquid can be heard when the crates are moved".

A CRATE of whisky that lay frozen and undiscovered for more than 100 years beneath the hut of one of the world's most famous Antarctic explorers is being thawed out live online to reveal its secrets. The crate of Mackinlay's was found earlier this year after Sir Ernest Shackleton left it and four other crates of spirits beneath the floor of his hut during his 1908 British Antarctic Nimrod Expedition.

It was taken to the Canterbury Museum in Christchurch, New Zealand, where officials said it would be thawed in a controlled environment so the whisky could be analysed. Richard Paterson, Glasgow-based Whyte & Mackay's master blender, has expressed his desire for a sample in a bid to recreate the blend.

A case of whisky which spent more than 100 years buried in the Antarctic has returned to Scotland. The scotch was buried beneath a hut used by the explorer Ernest Shackleton during his unsuccessful 1907 to 1909 expedition to reach the South Pole.

Five cases were dug up last year, before being carefully thawed by museum officials in New Zealand. One of these cases - of Mackinlay whisky - has been flown to Scotland. Distillers Whyte and Mackay, which owns the McKinlay brand, were keen to get hold of a bottle.