Aberlour distillery
57°28′2″N 3°13′44″W / 57.46722°N 3.22889°W / 57.46722; -3.22889
- 2 Wash stills: each 21,310 L[2]
- 2 Spirit stills: 20,000 L and 15,456 L[2]
Aberlour distillery is a Speyside single malt Scotch whisky distillery, in Aberlour, Strathspey, Scotland, at the confluence of the Lour Burn and River Spey near Ben Rinnes.[3]
History
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/47/TOMFARCLAS_FARM.jpg/220px-TOMFARCLAS_FARM.jpg)
James Fleming (1830–1895) was born and baptised on the first day of June at Inveravon, the only son of a tenant farmer at Tomfarclas on the Ballindalloch estate. James helped his father on the farm until manhood and then sought a wider and more financially rewarding direction for his future, first as a commission agent and dealer in the grain trade.[4]
In the mid-1860s, he acquired a lease of the Dailuaine distillery at nearby Carron and held it for ten years, making connections in the spirit markets. By the 1871 Census, James had moved to Aberlour,[5][full citation needed] and in 1874 established and developed a new branch agency for the North of Scotland Bank.[6] He became a prominent and respected member of the local community; as an elder of the parish church and in several public positions: chairman of the School Board, county councillor, and town Provost.[7]
In 1879, Fleming secured a feu from the Earl of Fife on the land where he planned to build the Aberlour distillery and, upon its completion, produced whisky there from December 1880.[8][3] He sold the business to his acting agents, Robert Thorne & Sons in 1892.[9] James Fleming died aged 65, leaving a significant and tangible legacy. He built Aberlour's first public meeting place, The Fleming Hall in 1889.[10] This was followed in 1900 by the Fleming Cottage Hospital[11] providing isolation accommodation to limit the spread of infectious diseases. In James Thomson's 1902 book Recollections of a Speyside Parish,[12] the author wrote: "The hospital that has been built and endowed by his [Fleming's] liberality will always remain a memorial to his Christian philanthropy. I can well remember more than one epidemic that devastated many a home in the village. Had there been at the time such an institution in the place, many lives might have been saved."
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a4/FLEMING_MEMORIAL_STONE.jpg/220px-FLEMING_MEMORIAL_STONE.jpg)
Fleming's commitment to improving the welfare of local people is evidenced by another bequest made on 11 June 1895, two weeks before his death:[13] "I leave a sum of five hundred pounds for the purpose of erecting a steel wire footbridge over the river Spey at Aberlour at a place as near as possible to the mouth of the burn of Ruthrie [the Lour Burn] so as to connect the village of Charlestown with the parish of Knockando." Safety, as well as convenience, being his concern following a number of reported drowning tragedies in the fast-flowing waters during his lifetime. After delays in its approval by an obstinate landowner, the Victoria Bridge, Aberlour – often referred to as the Penny Bridge locally – was completed and opened without ceremony in 1902. James Fleming is buried in the town's cemetery almost opposite the distillery site.[citation needed]
Robert Thorne & Sons Ltd. sold the Aberlour distillery in 1920 to a brewing family, W.H. Holt & Sons, based near Manchester, England.[3] In 1945, ownership passed to S. Campbell & Sons Ltd and the distillery was later re-equppied with four stills in 1973.[3] In 1975, Pernod Ricard acquired Campbell Distilleries, and they joined with Chivas Brothers in 2001 forming a portfolio of 14 single malt distilleries and one grain distillery in Scotland, and two gin distilleries in England.[3] In 2002, a new modernised visitor centre was opened for public visits and tours. In 2014, over 3.5 million bottles of Aberlour were sold.[3]
Bottlings
The whisky comes in a variety of ages, including a 10, 12, 15, 16, 18 and a rare 30-year-old 1970 vintage malt, as well as a cask strength release, A'bunadh, with no age statement. Most of the variants are aged in American ex-bourbon casks, a standard for many single malts.[14] Aberlour also releases a range of malts that, after aging in bourbon casks, are finished in casks previously used to mature varieties of fortified wines or sherries, a method applied to appeal particularly to the French market.[14]
Reviews
Since 1986, Aberlour Single Malt Scotch Whisky has won[citation needed] 58 Gold awards and 8 Trophies in the Tasting categories of two leading industry competitions, the International Wine and Spirits Competition (IWSC) and International Spirits Challenge (ISC).
References
Citations
- ^ Malt Whisky Yearbook, 2017 Edition
- ^ a b Aberlour on whisky.com
- ^ a b c d e f Maclean, Charles (2016). Whiskypedia. A Gazetteer of Scotch Whisky. Edinburgh: Birlinn. pp. 57–58. ISBN 978-1-78027-401-0.
- ^ Black's Morayshire directory for Inveravon 1863
- ^ 1871 census
- ^ "The Elgin Courant". 16 March 1875.
- ^ "THE LATE MR. JAMES FLEMING, ABERLOUR". Northern Scot and Moray & Nairn Express. 29 June 1895.
- ^ "THE ABERLOUR DISTILLERY". The Elgin Courant and Courier. 16 November 1880.
- ^ "R. THORNE & SONS LIMITED". The Scotsman. 13 June 1892.
- ^ "THE LATE MR. JAMES FLEMING, ABERLOUR". Banffshire Journal and General Advertiser. 2 July 1895.
- ^ "THE FLEMING COTTAGE HOSPITAL, ABERLOUR". Northern Scot and Moray & Nairn Express. 5 May 1900.
- ^ Thomson, James (1902). Recollections of a Speyside Parish. Moray and Nairn Newspaper Co., Ltd, Second Edition.
- ^ 1895 Fleming, James [Reference SC2/40/55 Banff Sheriff Court] retrieved 27 July 2016
- ^ a b "Classic Malts Selection: Ask the Expert". www.malts.com. Classic Malts Selection. 2012. Archived from the original on 22 March 2014. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
Bibliography
- Bernhardt, Ralf; Würsching, Hans Georg (2003). The Aberlour Single Malt Whisky Collector's Guide. Einhausen, Germany: Cluaran. ISBN 978-3980934404.
External links
- Official website
- Details on how to visit Aberlour distillery
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