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a'bunadh
Gaelic for "of the origin", a'bunadh
is malt whisky as it would have been made in James Fleming's time.
Matured exclusively in Oloroso sherry casks, it is bottled at
cask strength without modern-day chill-filtration methods or the
addition of water. In the words of whisky expert Michael Jackson,
a'bunadh is "a dark, luxurious post-prandial whisky . . .
rich, layered, chocolatey, fruity, nougat-like and astonishingly
powerful". (For more about a'bunadh, click
here)
Aberlour
The village of Aberlour is in the heart of
Speyside, at the confluence of the rivers Lour and Spey. The name
Aberlour means "mouth of the Lour" (Lour itself meaning
"the chattering burn" or stream). The earliest known
inhabitants of the area were the "Beaker People" of
the Bronze Age (circa 2000 BC), to be followed many centuries
later by the Celts, or Picts, who largely practised the Druid
religion. These early settlers, with their arcane spiritual beliefs
and rituals, left an air of magic and mystery that persists in
Aberlour even today. In the 6th century Christianity came to Aberlour
in the form of St Drostan, who blessed the local waters and set
up a monastic cell.
Charles Grant, Laird of Wester Elchies, created
the modern village of Aberlour in 1812. He officially named it
Charlestown of Aberlour after his son. In 1814 Charlestown of
Aberlour was granted burgh status and given its own charter, along
with the right to hold regular markets. In the same year Thomas
Telford built his historic bridge spanning the Spey at nearby
Craigellachie.
For much of the 19th century Aberlour prospered,
with the arrival of the railway and James Fleming's new distillery
a boost for employment. By 1911 the population had reached an
all-time high of 2,644. It now stands at less than a third of
that. Aside from its famous whisky, Aberlour is best known today
for the scenic and sporting attractions of Speyside and as the
home of Walkers shortbread.
Aberlour Distillery
The distillery was founded in 1879 by James
Fleming, who shrewdly built it on the site of St Drostan's Well,
thus securing forever this priceless source of pure spring water.
A notable feature of the distillery in its early days was the
use of water, rather than steam, to power every aspect of the
production process. When the journalist Alfred Barnard visited
Aberlour in the 1880s, as part of his exhaustive survey of Scottish
whisky distilleries, he described James Fleming's new establishment
as a "perfect modern Distillery".
In January 1898, an explosion in the malt mill triggered
a fire which destroyed several of the distillery buildings and
most of the whisky stocks. Under the supervision of Scotland's
foremost designer of whisky distilleries, Charles Doig of Elgin,
the distillery was largely rebuilt. Within six months the whisky
was flowing once again.
Over the past 100 years, with modernisation, the
landscape of the distillery has inevitably altered, though many
of the original features are still there. The latest addition
is a new visitors centre (visits by appointment only), opened
in October 2000. However, the traditional working character of
the Aberlour Distillery remains unchanged, and the award-winning
malt whisky it produces is as good ever.
Age of Malt Whisky
The age of a malt whisky is defined by the
length of time it is matured in a cask, prior to bottling - hence
Aberlour 10 Year Old and Aberlour 15 Year Old.
Angels' Share
The maturing whisky "breathes in"
the surrounding Highland air through the porous oak casks, at
the same time releasing tiny amounts of evaporating alcohol into
the atmosphere. Amounting to roughly two per cent a year, this
vanishing spirit is known as the "angels' share" - though
there is no evidence of any angels appearing the worse for wear!
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