Speyside – the still trippers

Aberlour Distillery

Visit #9, September 24, 2016

In the heart of the Speyside region of Scotland surrounded by burns or streams and the River Spey is the town of Aberlour. Some people know Aberlour from the famous Walkers shortbread which is made here. Others make the pilgrimage to fish or enjoy the beautiful countryside. Our group came to Aberlour for its whisky and what a great place to base oneself to visit the many distilleries in the area. Of course, when you stay in Aberlour, the highlight has to be the Aberlour Distillery, and it was better than shortbread, a fine treat indeed.

The Aberlour Distillery was built in 1879 by James Fleming, the son of a local farmer. He wanted to create a distillery that would represent what a true distillery should look like. Unlike most distilleries, it was powered by a waterwheel until the 1960s using the rushing stream nearby. He was a community man and did many important things for the town and people as well. A town hall is now named after him, Fleming Hall. But he was also very proud of the spirit that came out of the distillery and had a famous family motto of “Let the Deed Show,” telling people that the spirit itself was the true testament of his whisky-making and expertise.

Upon Fleming’s death in 1895, the distillery went through a number of hands and eventually was acquired by Pernod Ricard in 1975 which then joined Chivas Brothers in 2001. Aberlour is the best selling Scotch in France with over a million bottles a year being sold there.

Our Aberlour Experience tour started at 10am and was led by Susan. After telling us about the history of the Aberlour Distillery and James Fleming, we visited the different areas of production of the spirit, and here are some notes from our tour:

Water source comes from springs on the Ben Rinnes mountain and Linn Falls – pH of 7 (neutral)
320 liters of liquid yeast used in each production
1962 – the year malting was out-sourced, Balvenie still malts 10% of the barley for Aberlour – no peat used for their malt
25 tons of malted barley delivered at a time, 12 tons used with each production
The Porteus mill is over 60 years old
In 1898 the distillery was completely destroyed by an explosion in the mill
48,000 liters of water go through the Mash Tun – mash water temps are 65 degrees / 80 degrees / 95 degrees to produce the wort (about 60,000 liters)
6 washbacks – stainless steel painted white – fermentation takes between 48-50 hours
4 swan-shaped stills – 2 wash and 2 spirit stills (15,000 liters)
Heads: 15 minutes / Hearts: 1 hour (5,000 liters) / Tails: 2 hours
Ex-Oloroso sherry butts and Ex-Bourbon casks are used
2 large racked warehouses (stacked 8 high) on site (15,000 barrels), some whisky stored off site but within 15 miles of the distillery
7 team managers on site

The tour was very well done and and we were able to visit all of the areas of production. The Aberlour Experience tour includes a nice tasting as well. The following different expressions were tasted:

The New Make Spirit – straight off the still (un-aged), 63.5% ABV
Bourbon-Cask Matured 15 year old, 53.7% ABV
Sherry-Cask Matured 16 year old, 56.5% ABV
10 year old – #1 selling whisky in France, 40% ABV, bourbon and sherry cask fill
16 year old – first-fill bourbon cask, re-fill sherry cask, 40% ABV
A’Bunadh – Batch 51, cask strength 60.8% ABV

Let’s just say that it was good that we were able to walk to the distillery from our hotel up the hill! It was a great way to end a very nice tour and experience.

Charles’ Notes: Aberlour was one of the distilleries that I was most interested in visiting due to its popularity abroad and the fact that we were staying right next to it at The Dowans Hotel for 4 nights. By the way, The Dowans Hotel made for a perfect base to explore the Speyside region’s offerings and I would stay there again in a heartbeat. Great food and whisky bar! The distillery had a smaller feel than what I expected from a Chivas/Pernod Ricard owned maker, but this was a good thing. It made me think of the late 19th century when the distillery was being run by Mr. Fleming. It is set on a nice piece of property right along the stream. It really is a perfect spot for someone to visit, especially if they are staying in town like we did. I did regret not picking up the bourbon-cask matured 15 year old. This was my favorite taste. At home, the A’Bunadh has become one of my favorites as well (Batch 50). I guess I will just need to make another visit! Cheers.

Glenfarclas Distillery

Visit #6, September 22, 2015

There is a sense of calming when visiting the Glenfarclas distillery in the Speyside region of Scotland. Maybe it is the “family” atmosphere which is evident at the distillery as we saw Mr. Grant loading the family dogs into his vehicle. It could also be the Glenfarclas dram and taste that has become so memorable over the years. But the real calming came from the tour and experience of visiting this family-run distillery, one of the last remaining family distilleries in the Speyside region.

Located in Ballindalloch, the Glenfarclas distillery was first founded in 1836 by a farm tenant John Hay. It wasn’t until 1865 that the Grant family became involved. Since then it has remained in the Grant family and is currently run by both the 5th and 6th generations of the family. This is quite impressive and unique in this era of large corporate-run makers of spirits.

Our tour started in the Visitor’s Center where we learned about the family history behind this special malt. From here we were led down to the working facility. On the way we passed a waterwheel being fed by water from springs coming down from the Ben Rinnes mountain, the main water source for the distillery. The facility is not fancy or embellished. It is a true working facility and not set up for looks…

We visited all of the different stages of the process, including the mill, the mash tun, the washbacks, the still room, and the warehouses. Our guide was excellent and she provided a lot of information on all aspects of the production.

Here are some notes from the tour:

11 storage tanks / hoppers store 3 weeks of grain for spirit production
Up until 1975, Glenfarclas did their own malting but it is now delivered
Buhler mill is used to make grist, they test the grist three times looking for a mix of 80% grist, 15% husks and 5% flour
16.5 tons of grist is placed in the mash tun which is 10 meters in diameter
Three water stages during the mashing at 64 degrees / 78 degrees / 89-90 degrees
12 stainless steel washbacks from over 40 years ago hold 41,000 liters each
Fermentation takes approximately 48 hours
Six stills heated by direct fire (gas)
1 large wash still (26,500 liters) and 1 large spirit still (21,200 liters)
25,000 liters of wort in the wash still
Three cuts of the spirit: 20 minutes of head, 3 to 4 hours of heart, and 4 to 5 hours of tail
A total of 33 warehouses store 55,000 casks
Grist Hopper

Malt Mill

Stone Remover

Mashing

Mash Tun and Washbacks

Washbacks

Large stills

Spirit Safe

Warehouses

Family Casks

The standard distillery tour ends with a tasting at the Visitor’s Center. They have two other tours that are provided for a higher price, including the Connoisseur’s Tour and Tasting, and the Five Decades Tour and Tasting. These tours offer more to taste and the Five Decades tour includes a taste of each of the decades from the family casks. Very cool. Our guide let us taste the 10-year old Glenfarclas, but then did let us taste the 25-year old as a special treat. Classy! It was very much appreciated.

Charles’ Notes: I was very much looking forward to this visit. Glenfarclas has always been a favorite, but this propelled it to a place of admiration that is tough to beat. There is something to be said about a family-run distillery. Maybe it is the buy-in of the people who have worked there for so many years. But it is also the old-school methods that are still used to produce this great spirit. Compared to some of the distilleries we visited, there was less computerization, more human contact and a family history that is still seen. I definitely want to return here for another visit when I am in the Speyside next. What was also fun was that the Mash Tun hotel/restaurant down in Aberlour had many of the family casks available at their bar. Not a bad way to end a day!

The Glenlivet Distillery

Visit #5, September 22, 2015

The Glenlivet Distillery is a very popular stop on the Whisky Trail in the Speyside region of Scotland. Its global presence in the marketplace is unmistakable. Even the branding includes the saying, “The single malt that started it all.” It’s definitely one of those malts that everyone has heard of and maybe even tasted. There were travels that I took in different parts of the world where The Glenlivet was the only selection of single malt Scotch available. Not surprisingly, it continues to be the largest selling single malt in the United States and now ranks second globally. It also doesn’t hurt that the distillery is located on a beautiful hillside just outside of Ballindalloch. Quite a stunning sight!

The history of the distillery goes back to the time when Scottish legislation was passed in 1823 for distillers to apply and receive a license to legally produce spirit. George Smith, the creator of The Glenlivet, was one of first adopters of this “legal” process to the dismay of many other distillers who wanted this new legislation to be repealed. Many threats on his life were made, but eventually The Glenlivet distillery was established in 1824. The distillery remained in the family and it wasn’t until the early 1950s that the distillery went through a variety of mergers and acquisitions and is currently owned by the French spirits company, Pernod Ricard.

Stills to the left and Visitor Center straight ahead

The Glenlivet distillery offers one of the few free tours found in the area. The distillery also has additional tours that are more specific based on different experiences and tastings and these are priced accordingly. We decided to do the free tour since we were short on time and visiting two other distilleries on the same day. There are also walking trails of varying lengths that can be done in the surrounding countryside. On a return visit, we would definitely include some time to do this. It is such a beautiful area.

Below are notes that we took during our distillery tour:

Josie’s Well is the main water source for The Glenlivet distillery. The name Glenlivet in Gaelic means “valley of the smooth flowing one”
400 metric tons of malted barley are delivered into the Malt Bins – this lasts about 5 days
The distillery operates 6 days a week and 42 weeks a year
13.3 tons of grist are mashed with 105,000 liters of water
Three water temps (Fahrenheit) used during the mashing process: 65 / 78 / 78->96
59,000 liters of wort are produced per mash
8 washbacks seen on tour, an additional 8 washbacks in the old building
Washbacks are made of Oregon Pine and are 8 meters deep
Fermentation takes 2 to 3 days
3 pairs of stills in the new building and 4 pairs in the old building
Wash stills hold 15,000 liters / Spirit stills hold 10,000 liters
Head cut – 20 minutes / Heart cut – 2 hours / Tails cut – 3 hours
Silent season – time needed for maintenance, anywhere from 2 to 6 weeks
Casks are re-used 3 times
6,000 casks in 10 different warehouses totaling 60,000 casks
No cooperage on site
The Still Room – behind the windows – no photos allowed inside

Warehouse

The tour ended with a tasting. Three tastes were provided which was generous considering that the tour was free. The first taste was the no-age statement Founders Reserve. The second taste was the 15-year-old French Oak Reserve at 40% ABV. The last taste was the cask-strength Nadurra, another no-age statement whisky at 63.1% ABV.

There is a nice cafe and small exhibition space at the main visitor center. This is helpful because at The Glenlivet they do get busloads of people so there might be a wait for the free tour. We did have to wait, but this was fine since we were hungry and needed a little break.

Charles’ Notes: The Glenlivet distillery was a nice surprise. I did not have very high expectations since it was a free tour, an immensely-marketed whisky and such a popular destination for tourists. For some reason, I always think this would make for a lackluster experience. But it turned out to be a very nice visit on a beautiful property. The views were incredible. The tour itself was very informative and open to information (sometimes you never know what they like to keep secret). The one downside was that they do not allow photos inside any of the working buildings. For this reason, I do not have many photos to share!! Most distilleries that do not allow photos say it is for safety reasons (fire danger, etc.), but there are a lot of distilleries that do allow photos. I think at times it is said more for keeping things secret, but oh well. I would like to return to The Glenlivet to do a higher-level tasting tour and then go on one of the walking trails nearby. Now that sounds like a nice Speyside day. Slainte!

Glenfiddich Distillery

Visit #4, September 22, 2015

It was a cool, damp Speyside morning. One that begs to be distilled. The visit this morning was to the Glenfiddich Distillery just outside of Dufftown. Upon driving into the parking lot, you are greeted by huge antlers shaped from two-by-fours and other plant material. Quite a sight. The antlers are appropriate since Glenfiddich means “Valley of the Deer” in Scottish Gaelic and they can be seen on every bottle.

Founded in 1886 by William Grant and sons, Glenfiddich is one of the few remaining distilleries to remain family-owned. You could feel the pride in this from our tour guide. This is quite amazing since they are such a large producer of single malt Scotch and since 2000 they have received more awards than any other single malt Scotch whisky in both the International Wine & Spirit Competition and the International Spirits Challenge. We took the Explorers Tour, one of three tours that are available at Glenfiddich.

The water that sources the world’s best-selling single malt whisky is the Robbie Dhu spring. 100 tons of barley a day are used and this is taken down to 9 1/2 tons during processing. They use two mills for grinding the barley and two mash tuns that hold up to 60,000 liters each. The three water sparges in the mash tun are at 68 degrees, 75 degrees and 86 degrees. 41,000 liters of mash are converted into wort and then cooled in a heat exchanger before being sent to fermentation. Glenfiddich uses 32 washbacks made of Douglas Fir for fermentation. It was an interesting note that they use the high branch line of the Douglas Fir (over 17ft) for their washbacks. Fermentation takes approximately 72 hours and produces a wash of 9.6% ABV.

There are two still buildings at Glenfiddich containing a total of 28 stills. The life of their stills is between 8 1/2 to 9 1/2 years and they use gas heating, not coils. Once the wash stills have started to produce the condensed, cleaned-up spirits, the first 1/2 hour comprises the head or the foreshots and this is then taken to be redistilled. The heart, or the runoff with the proper high percentage of alcohol, runs for about 2 1/2 hours at 21% ABV. This tail or the feints are the last runoff and they last for about 1/2 hour and are redistilled. The low wines (heart) is then heated and condensed again in the spirit stills. Glenfiddich has two differently shaped spirit stills, one that is a pot belly where vapor spirals up and the other which is a witches hat or lantern where the vapor goes straight up. The heart from this new distillation will produce a ‘new make’ spirit of about 70% ABV.

Glenfiddich houses its own onsite cooperage where the coopers build and char new casks and do repairs as needed. They store 1 million barrels and casks among 46 warehouses. Amerian oak and Spanish Oloroso oak casks are used. We visited one warehouse with a marrying tub where spirits of 85% bourbon and 15% sherry were being married. Here also is where Glenfiddich uses the Solera process for its 15-year old whisky.

Our Explorers Tour ended with a tasting of four Glenfiddich whiskies. The first taste was the 12-year old which is comprised of 85% bourbon casks and 15% sherry casks. The second taste was the 14-year old Rich Oak, also a mix 85% bourbon casks and 15% sherry casks. The third taste was the 15-year old Solera Unique Reserve. The last and my favorite was the 18-year old which is comprised of 80% bourbon casks and 20% sherry casks.

Charles’ Notes: I was not sure what to expect from this distillery visit. I was thinking it was going to have more of a corporate feel since it is such a large producer worldwide, but the family influence came across nicely. Our guide also made it feel that way which was nice. I think he was the only guide on our 11-distillery visit that even wore his tartan clothing! The tour itself was very well done with a movie to start in a nice facility and then a full visit to each stage of the operation. The tasting room was nicely laid out with artwork and Glenfiddich memorabilia. It made me want to come back and do their other tours which I will definitely do the next time I am in the Speyside. Just a quick note, if you are a driver and visit this distillery, they do provide “to go” drams so that you can taste at your leisure when you return back to the hotel or home.

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