In 1907, one Sir Ernest Shackleton set out with a group of explorers, destined for the South Pole. Nobody had made it there before, and Shackleton had failed a few years earlier. With three mates along he made it further south than anybody else had, but they never made the Pole, because in January 1909 Shackleton made an executive decision that their team was in too much danger. He had made it about 100 miles away. But this was still considered a great achievement, and he was knighted for his attempt. If not for his decision to turn around, he and his team would almost certainly have died.
Now, over 100 years later, researchers excavated the hut where Shackleton made his northern base for the trip... and amazingly, underneath, they found five crates: three labeled "whisky" and two labeled "brandy".
The whisky itself is considered invaluable because it's a window into booze history: what were blends like back in the day? The brand itself, Mackinlay, is still made today after Mackinlay and Co were acquired by Whyte & Mackay, who consequently now own the Mackinlay label.
BBC story
The Atlantic photoset