Founder of the Aberlour Distillery, James Fleming
(1830-95) was a man of enterprise, vision and compassion. The
son of a local tenant farmer, he became a grain dealer with many
whisky distillers among his customers.
This encouraged him to establish his own distillery
and create a whisky of distinction. He acquired the land at Aberlour
and with it the priceless water source of St Drostan's Well. Work
began in 1879 and within a year the whisky began to flow.
James Fleming was a man of extraordinary generosity.
He built a community hall for the people of Aberlour and left
money to fund the construction of a hospital and a bridge across
the River Spey. Self-effacing and modest, he lived by his family
motto (bestowed on it by Robert the Bruce) of "Let the Deed
Show". A sentiment appropriately displayed on every bottle
of Aberlour.
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