Ernest Shackleton failed in his bid to reach the South Pole but the Irish-born Antarctic explorer may have let the world a more significant gift.

Just discovered are three crates of whisky and two crates of brandy beneath the floorboards of hut used by Shackleton in 1908 during his quest to reach the South Pole.

The 102 year old Scotch whisky find is like finding the original recipe for distilling the hard stuff.

The whisky is from Whyte and Mackay Scottish master blenders and the whisky unearthed is the original blend for the brand which has long since been thought lost for ever.

Richard Paterson, a current day master blender for Whyte & Mackay, , described the unearthing of the bottles as “a gift from the heavens for whisky lovers,” and said “If the contents can be confirmed, safely extracted and analyzed, the original blend may be able to be replicated.”

Paterson described what the taste would be like

[W]hiskies back then — a harder age — were all quite heavy and peaty as that was the style. And depending on the storage conditions, it may still have that heaviness. For example, it may taste the same as it did back then if the cork has stayed in the bottle and kept it airtight.

Let's raise a glass to Ernest Shackleton from Kidare then, to thank him for saving something truly unique --not exactly what he wanted to be famous for but whatever.