The story begins in Aberlour’s Charlestown, a small village in the heart of Speyside, a naturally fertile area known as “Scotland’s breadbasket”. It was there, in 1879, that James Fleming, a grain merchant, established his first copper stills. Eberler Distillery was born. A name derived from the contraction of the words Eber – “mouth” in Gaelic – and Lour, the name of the river that flows nearby. A location that Fleming did not choose by chance: Laur, which the Druids nicknamed the “Whispering Stream” 2000 years ago, is renowned for the exceptional quality of its waters, an imperative to be able to produce an extraordinary condition is. Soul.
soft, fresh and limp water
Like today, Lure’s water arrives at the distillery after surveying kilometers of wooded marshes, making its way through coniferous forests, bypassing mosaics of rocky hillsides and touching waterfalls. On a daily basis, this fresh, fresh and limp water is used by Aberlour to develop its exceptional single malts, such as it is used to chill vats and various columns of the distillery. who told Aberlour’s master distiller Graeme Cruickshank that ” Without it we couldn’t do anything. So it is our duty to return it after using it in pure form as we have received it. ,
To achieve this, the distillery has two towers, the Winston Towers, where it practices the ancient technique of “water polishing”. Inside each of them, the carefully stacked basalt stones act as a natural filter responsible for removing bacteria and other impurities that pass through the water used during the various stages of the single malt production process. Huh. An ancestral process, in addition to returning the water from the surrounding nature to its pure form, which was initially withdrawn, allows the distillery to save 8.8 million liters each year.
privileged local farmer
Another essential ingredient in the production of barley, an exceptional single malt. Maison Aberlour only uses what is cultivated by farmers within a 15-mile (about 24 kilometer) radius of the distillery. Among them, Ian Green. For decades, his family has cultivated golden grains on 1,500 hectares of land on Korskey Farm, about twenty kilometers north of Charlestown in Aberlour. This proximity allows the distillery to be fully integrated into its region and its economy, while controlling the traceability of its supply. And because he is aware of what he owes to nature, Aberlor House He has always maintained a respectful relationship with her, ensuring that he returns the money she receives from him in some form or the other.
Aberlor, 14, stays true to tradition
James Fleming likes to repeat it: “let the deed show”, “let the actions speak for themselves”. For the founder of Aberlour Distillery, a whiskey must be produced with care and information, with respect to nature and traditions. Loyal to this philosophy, the Scottish distillery’s new creation, Aberlor 14 years old, first of all expresses his terrain, this fertile nature where he was born. Above all, it is the result of a careful blending of single malts aged at least 14 years, aged in perfectly American white oak bourbon casks and high quality Spanish oak sherry butts.
The art of blending involves carefully selecting the right amount of bourbon and sherry casks, according to their age, variety of oak, number of previous fillings… the possibilities are limitless. , or almost! and if Aberlor 14 years old Bourbon gives the barrel and American oak pride of place, adding enough sherry butts to underscore the quality of the distillate. It thus pays homage to the art of distillation, capturing the notes of cassis and blackberry that escape from the stills. Note that the double ripeness will then dress up with hints of red apple, sweet vanilla and honey, without trying to overwhelm them, but with a delicate touch bringing an added depth and aromatic complexity.
From local raw materials to precision distillation, from barrel selection to careful assembly by hand, Aberlor is the result of 14 years of patient collective work, where each stage of production is a matter of careful attention. The eclectic taste of this new expression from Aberlour.
* Butts (or sherry butts) are more precise barrels that previously contained sherry.
To learn more about Aberlour’s commitments, click here,
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