Dunedin author Neville Peat yesterday with a reproduction
of the Mackinlay's Rare Old Highland Malt Whisky discovered
beneath the hut Sir Ernest Shackleton's party built on
their 1907-1909 expedition. Photo by Gregor Richardson.
With a surname like Peat, you would be expected to know a
bit about whisky.
Dunedin author Neville Peat's latest book, Shackleton's
Whisky, has been released to critical acclaim in England
this week.
The Times and the Daily Mail both lauded the
book in reviews this week, with the latter publication
selecting it as its book of the week. Shackleton's Whisky was
inspired by the 2007 discovery of three cases of Mackinlay's
Rare Old Highland Malt Whisky, which was entombed in ice for
100 years under the hut Sir Ernest Shackleton and his men
built at Cape Royds on Ross Island during their 1907-1909
expedition.
''I'm thrilled with the interest in the UK,'' Mr Peat said
yesterday.
''The Daily Mail has a daily circulation of around
1.85 million readers, so it's very pleasing. I think there's
a fascination with finding something organically linked with
Shackleton's expedition and that you could dare recreate it.
It's re-visiting history.
''Shackleton was an heroic figure and the first man to really
know the bleak heart of the continent,'' he said.
''I'd like to think the book helps publicise what New Zealand
has done over 50 years to record for posterity this
remarkable base at Cape Royds. It's a tribute to all the
people who have worked on that.''
Three bottles of the whisky were removed in February 2010,
and replicated by Scottish distillers Whyte and Mackay, which
now owns the Mackinlay's brand.
The company presented a reproduction bottle to Mr Peat, who
said it was ''very nice''. However, no respectable journalist
could be expected to take his word for it.
It was very nice.
- nigel.benson@odt.co.nz
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