Tag: whisky tasting

Aberlour Distillery

Visit #9, September 24, 2016

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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.ABERLOUR II

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

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ABERLOUR V

ABERLOUR VII

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

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ABERLOUR IX

ABERLOUR VIII

ABERLOUR X

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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.

The Dowans Hotel
The Dowans Hotel

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.

Charles and Father In Law
Charles and Father In Law
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Ben Nevis Distillery

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Visit #2, September 21, 2015

The amazing thing about travel is the unexpected.  Our Scotland whisky-tasting tour initially planned on visiting the Ben Nevis distillery in Fort William, Scotland, but a reservation was difficult to make so we planned on skipping it.  But while passing through Fort William, we stopped at a BP gas station to take a break.  Across the street from the BP station is the Ben Nevis distillery (picture above), staring at us and enticing us to visit.  What did we have to lose…  Upon entering the distillery, our expectation was to visit the gift shop, but we were pleased to find out that a tour that was starting in a few minutes.  How great!  I explained the difficulty we had with initially communicating with them and they apologized and mentioned that some employees were away and this caused some of the issues.  It turned out to be one of the best distillery visits we had out of the 11 that were visited during our Scotland adventure.  A truly special treat.

The Ben Nevis distillery sits at the base of Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the British Isles.  It is an impressive and beautiful mountain and area where many outdoor enthusiasts search for their time in nature.  The water that is used for the distillery comes from the Allt a’Mhuilinn, which is a stream descending from the northern slopes of Ben Nevis.

It was founded in 1825 by Long John McDonald (from where the blended scotch, Long John, was named).  The distillery is now owned by a Japanese company Nikka which acquired the distillery in 1989.  10 people currently run the distillery.

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The are two malt bins at the distillery where Ben Nevis stores the malted barley it uses.  The process begins on Sunday at midnight.  The mash tun is 21,000 liters in size.  There are four stainless steel washbacks and two wooden washbacks on site.  Eight years ago, these two wooden washbacks, made of Dougles Spruce, were reintroduced to the distillery.  Each washback holds approximately 43,000 liters and fermentation takes about 15 hours.

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Ben Nevis Mash Tun

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Washbacks - Two wooden
Washbacks – Two wooden

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The two pot stills and two spirit stills are made of copper.  Our guide, John Carmichael, stated that this was due to the fact the stainless steel was not available 1400 years ago…  14,000 liters of spirit are made weekly at the distillery.  The spirit is taxed at 87.2%.

Pot Stills
Pot Stills

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Ben Nevis uses a mix of Spanish, French and American oak for their barrels and all barrels are made on site.  Some of their casks are from Jack Daniels.  They typically can do up to 5 different fillings per cask.  Sherry casks are also used since they are large and have less evaporation.P1020252

Once the tour ended, we were back in the gift shop and tasting counter where we all were able to taste the 10-year old.  Before we knew it, John, our guide, came back over to us and led us outside and upstairs for an unexpected treat.  He had set up the executive conference room for us to taste some of their aged bottles.  We tried the newmake straight out of the still, the 12-old and the 25-year old.  Wow, how great this was.  We went from almost passing by the distillery on our way up north, to getting a great tour, followed by a special tasting.  The 25-year old Ben Nevis was one of the best whiskies I have tasted.  At 56.4% alcohol, it had a kick but the age smoothed it out.  We tried bottle #151 out of 227.  It was a fantastic treat and one that I will never forget.  Cheers to John Carmichael for making this distillery stop one of our favorites.

25-year old
25-year old
12-year old
12-year old
Mr. Carmichael
Mr. Carmichael
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Matt with John Carmichael

Charles’ Notes:  The Ben Nevis distillery was a great stop.  Not only is it located at the base of  one of the most beautiful mountains in Scotland, it felt real and didn’t have that corporate feeling that you can find with some of the larger distilleries.  We had full access to take photos, to ask questions, and to explore each room on the site.  John, our guide, made this extra special as well with his humor and Scottish charm and, of course, the special private tasting that we had.  We are already looking forward to our next visit at Ben Nevis in the future.