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Ceilidh
The tradition of the ceilidh (kay-lee) goes
back a very long way. Originally it was a gathering, often in
honour of a stranger, at which stories about the past were told
and Gaelic songs sung. The young learned from their elders the
art of storytelling as they listened to the familiar tales of
heroic acts and villainous deeds. Nowadays the ceilidh is a festive
occasion of Scottish song and dance, a lively get-together that
leaves those on the dance floor either exhilarated or exhausted,
depending on how fit they are. Ceilidhs are frequently held at
the Fleming Hall in Aberlour, and there has been a Highland reel
or two at the distillery itself.
Celtic Connections
The Lour glen, with its secluded wooded slopes
and fresh spring water, was the ideal location for a Celtic settlement.
The oak, rowan and alder trees that grew there all had religious
connotations: the Celts believed that the oak tree was a vital
element in the creation of the world, that the first woman was
a rowan and the first man an alder. The Lour burn itself was a
natural habitat for spirits, who were also thought to be present
on "Fairy Knowe", a small hill behind what is now the
Aberlour Distillery. See Druids.
The Celtic community at the mouth of the Lour (where
it flowed into the larger River Spey, an important link to the
outside world) was well established by the time that St Drostan
visited it towards the end of the 6th century. Long after the
arrival of Christianity the ancient beliefs and rituals persisted,
leaving a sense of magic and mystery at Aberlour that has never
completely gone away.
Celts, The
The Celtic people swept into Britain from Western
Europe round about 300 BC. They brought with them highly developed
artistic and practical skills. They excelled in metalwork, producing
finely crafted helmets, swords and shields that were richly decorated.
Celtic art, much of it abstract in design and reflecting Mediterranean
influences, found expression in things like jewellery and drinking
vessels. The Celts were gifted musicians and poets, and had a
structured society within their, often warring, tribes. Little
is known about early Celtic religion but it appears to have involved
a belief in a spirit world closely linked to nature, and in the
immortality of the soul. The guardians of their religion were
the Druids, the powerful priests whose influence extended into
all areas of Celtic life.
The Celts in Britain were largely subdued by the
Romans, following the invasion of 43 AD. But the Gaelic-speaking
tribes in the northern half of Scotland - called Picts by the
Romans because of their body tattoos (picti being Latin for "painted
people") - were for the most part left to their own devices.
In the 6th century, Christian missionaries led by St Columcille
and St Drostan came to Scotland and the Druidic religion of the
Celts gradually gave way to Christianity.
Columcille
Better known these days as St Columba (521-597),
Columcille was born in County Donegal of royal descent. He founded
several monasteries and churches in Ireland, before sailing to
the tiny Hebridean island of Iona in 563 along with twelve companions,
one of whom was his protégé (according to some,
his nephew) Drostan. Columcille persuaded the local Pictish chieftan
to let him build a monastery on Iona and this became the launching
pad for his Christian mission to mainland Scotland.
On their hazardous crusade through the Highlands,
Columcille and his fellow monks experienced many adventures. On
one occasion, it is said, the "Apostle of Caledonia"
actually frightened off the Loch Ness monster. Some of the Picts
were far from friendly but the wise and saintly Columcille generally
won them round. By the time of his death at the end of the 6th
century most of Scotland had converted to Christianity.
Copper Stills
Malt whisky is generally distilled twice in
two pot stills - first the wash still, then the spirit still -
which vaguely resemble huge copper kettles. In the still room
at the Aberlour Distillery there are two pairs of copper stills,
the wash stills being slightly larger than the spirit stills since
they have to hold a greater volume of liquid. Although broadly
similar - a bulbous base with a short or long tapering neck, leading
at right angles to a narrower pipe or "lyne arm" - the
precise size and shape of pot stills vary from distillery to distillery,
with no two the same. The pot still's distinctive shape plays
a vital part in defining the character of the emerging whisky,
though no one knows exactly how or why. What is certain is that
Aberlour Single Malt would not be the same without its unique
copper stills - which is why that whenever they need to be repaired
or replaced, every curve, bulge or dent has to be faithfully reproduced.
Just in case.
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