Mr Milne, who runs Whisky Galore in Christchurch, was at a rare event when a crate of malt whisky bottled 115 years ago for Sir Earnest Shackleton's 1907 Antarctic expedition was opened at Christchurch Museum.
The crate was recovered from the Antarctic hut of the renowned explorer after it was found in 2006.
Shackleton ordered the then 10-year-old whisky for his 1907 Nimrod expedition which turned him into a hero and gave him a reputation as one of the greatest explorers of all time.
Even though the crate of Mackinlays whisky was frozen solid when it was brought back to Christchurch earlier this year, the minus 30degC temperature was not enough to freeze the whisky and it was in remarkably good condition.
Over the past few weeks the crate had been slowly thawing in a special room set up by the Antarctic Heritage Trust.
Today, in a painstakingly slow and careful manoeuvre, the crate was opened to reveal not 12 but 11 bottles of Scotch, carefully wrapped in paper and straw to protect them from the rigours of a rough trip to the Southern Ocean in 1907.
One of the 11 bottles was not as full as the other 10 and it was suspected the twelfth bottle might have been drunk by a member of Shackleton's crew of the Nimrod who could not resist the temptation.
The whisky is unlikely ever to be tasted. Once samples have been extracted and sent to the Scottish distillery which took over the Mackinlay's distillery many years ago, they will go back to their original home, under the floor of Shackleton's hut in Cape Royds, on Ross Island near McMurdo Sound.
The original recipe for the whisky had been lost but Whyte and Mackay, which now owns the Mackinlay brand, intends to replicate Shackleton's brew from the sample, Mr Milne said.
Mr Milne said, as a whisky lover, it would be the ultimate taste test but that was unlikely to happen and he could live with that.
Being part of history when the Shackleton whisky was opened was an amazing experience which began when he first saw the unopened crate.
"I just looked at this and honestly, my heart beat went up about three paces. It was amazing."
"The box was like a pioneer's box with the wood and nails coming out but it's in very good nick, with straw packaging sticking out," Mr Milne said.
The bottles had been lying in their side and had rammed cork stoppers with an intricate and stamped lead seal, much like a modern wine bottle.
The whisky was labelled as a Highland malt but the label also referred to Shackleton's ship Endurance and not the Nimrod.
The Endurance was a ship Shackleton used in his later expedition in 1914 and which was crushed when trapped in the ice.
"Whether it is a single malt or a blended malt, we don't know because there was no indication on the label.
"This is a very old label and in those days they didn't give much information," Mr Milne said.
He said blended and single malts were both very common but in 1909, two years after Shackleton left on his expedition, the rules were tightened about information needed on labels.
"For example, there was no alcohol volume or volume of the contents on the label."
Mr Milne said the whisky was distilled in 1896 or 1897 and encompassed "three centuries of liquid history."
Nigel Watson, executive director of the Antarctic Heritage Trust, said opening the crate was a delicate and slow process.
The crate would remain in cold storage and each of the bottles would be carefully assessed and conserved in the next few weeks.
He said samples would be extracted, possibly using a syringe through the cork stoppers.
