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Distilling
Distilling is the focal point of the whisky-making
process, with the experience and judgement of the stillman crucial
to the success of the operation. In the first of two distillations
the fermented liquid, or wash, is piped through to the wash still.
There it is brought to boiling point by means of steam-heated
coils at the base of the still. As the wash boils the alcoholic
content vaporises, passing up the swan-like neck of the still
and along the lyne arm, before being condensed back into liquid
form by the cooling system beyond.
This first distillate, known as "low wines",
is collected in a receiving vessel and then run off into the spirit
still, where the distillation process is repeated. This time more
slowly and with more precise scrutiny. The condensed low wines
that emerge the second time are skilfully monitored by the stillman
at the spirit safe. The flow of raw spirit is divided into three
parts. The first, called "foreshots", contains oil and
other impurities. The second and purest, the "centre cut",
is collected to become whisky. Finally comes the "feints",
the back end of the run, which together with the foreshots is
returned to the process to be redistilled with the next batch
of low wines.
See Copper Stills.
Doig, Charles
Architect Charles Doig had a greater hand in
the building of whisky distilleries in the late 19th and early
20th centuries than anyone else. His company, based in Elgin,
was responsible for designing all or some part of more than 100
distilleries in Scotland and Ireland. It was Doig who, in 1889,
introduced the pagoda-shaped chimney and roof on distillery kilns,
as a more efficient means of drawing the smoke from the peat fires
below. Originally called a "ventilator", the pagoda
roof became a distinctive feature at many Scottish distilleries.
After the catastrophic fire of 1898 that destroyed
much of the Aberlour Distillery, Charles Doig was commissioned
to design the replacement buildings - including a pagoda roof
for the kiln. The "pagoda" has not survived the long
years since, but there is a happy echo of it on top of the new
Visitors' Centre.
Draff
The spent barley left in the mash tun after
the liquor, or wort, has been drawn off. Draff is put to good
use as a nourishing and seemingly delicious cattle feed, guaranteed
to excite the taste buds of its four-legged consumers.
Drostan, St
Unofficial patron saint of Aberlour. Drostan
- also known as Drustan or Dunstan - was a protégé
of St Columcille and accompanied him on his missionary journey
to Scotland in the 6th century, bringing Christianity to the Picts.
When Columcille returned to Iona, he left Drostan behind to continue
the good work. Drostan visited Aberlour, where he set up a monastic
cell and baptised Christian converts in a spring on the site of
what is now the Aberlour Distillery. An engraved weather-beaten
stone, which for years marked the exact spot of St Drostan's Well,
has been carefully preserved at the distillery.
Drostan stayed in the area for some years, becoming
abbot of a monastery near Aberdeen. Later, seeking a life of even
greater seclusion, he became a hermit and a spiritual inspiration
to the sick and the poor. A number of miracles are attributed
to him, including the restoration of sight to a blind monk. Some
would say that the pure spring water of St Drostan's Well, which
today is the lifeblood of Aberlour malt whisky, is another of
the saint's miracles.
Druids
In the Celtic community the Druids were an
elite class, second only to royalty in privilege and status. Combining
the functions of priest, judge and sage, they exercised considerable
power and influence. Druids, it was thought, could communicate
with the spirit world that formed the basis of Celtic beliefs.
Many practised magic. They officiated at the numerous religious
ceremonies and rituals that made up the Celtic calendar, and which
were usually staged in a sacred grove of oak trees (see
Celts). Druids ran centres of scholarship and healing, called
"hospitals", where they dispensed learning as well as
medicine and cared for the sick. According to Celtic law, a hospital
had to have four doors and be sited near a stream of running water.
The remote and sheltered Lour glen, with its "chattering
burn" flanked by mighty oak trees, had all the hallmarks
of a Druid settlement. In such surroundings the twin worlds of
the Druids - the natural and the supernatural - could exist in
perfect harmony.
Dunnage
The traditional system for storing casks of
maturing whisky in the warehouse. The casks are stacked side by
side in rows, two or three high, with wooden runners separating
each row.
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