‘Whisky Galore’ bottle to be auctioned
By ANIWednesday, July 21, 2010
LONDON - A rare bottle of whisky salvaged from the sunken cargo ship which inspired Compton MacKenzie’s famous novel, Whisky Galore, is to be sold at auction.
The bottle of Ballantine’s is thought to have been recovered from the wreck of SS Politician in the 1950s or 1960s, The Scotsman reported.
The cargo ship ran aground in a gale off the Outer Hebrides, near the island of Eriskay, in 1941 - with 264,000 bottles of whisky onboard.
In 1947, Scottish author Compton Mackenzie wrote the novel, Whisky Galore, based on the incident, which, two years later, was turned into an Ealing Comedy film of the same name.
In 1987, eight bottles were retrieved from the wreck, which still lies submerged off the coast of Eriskay, and sold for 4,000 pounds. Despite extensive salvage efforts in 1989, only 24 more bottles were recovered. (ANI)
