The Dewars make history.
The Dewar name is a big one in the whisky world. As early as 1846, John Dewar created the "Dewar's" blend, which is still one of the most successful Scotch whiskys in the world today. His sons John Jr. and Thomas (“Tommy”) continued to expand the whisky empire. Aberfeldy was the first of the Dewars' nine distilleries. The brothers were even knighted for their services to Scottish whisky. But Tommy became even more famous because of something else: He was the third car owner in Great Britain - after the tea king Thomas Lipton and the Prince of Wales.
What does Aberfeldy mean? Translation: Estuary of St. Paldoc
Where is Aberfeldy? The Aberfeldy Distillery is located in the village of the same name in the central Highlands of Scotland. Aberfeldy is one of the soft representatives of Highland Whiskys.
3 reasons to love Aberfeldy
1) Because the Dewars...well, today you would say they "rocked" the whisky world.
2) Because the smooth single malt has character.
3) Because the River Tay laps so invitingly crystal clear.
How does Aberfeldy whisky taste?
The Aberfeldy Single Malts are characterized by a wonderfully soft note of honey. Malty sweet and with delicate grain notes you will hear a delicate background smoke with some Aberfeldys. The finish is light and dry. A great aperitif whisky.
Our Aberfeldy recommendations
To get started, you should try the Aberfeldy 12 years. If you like it rounder and more profound, treat yourself with the Aberfeldy 16 year old.
A bit of history on Aberfeldy
Aberfeldy was built in 1896 on the outskirts of the village of the same name by brothers John and Tommy Dewar. The distillery is situated on the banks of the Tay. The Pitilie distillery was previously operated by Alexander McLean on the distillery site from 1825 to 1867. Production at Aberfeldy began in 1898.
During the First World War, between 1917 and 1919, like so many distilleries, there was no production.
In 1925 the Aberfeldy went to the Distillers Company Limited (DCL) and thus in 1930 to Scottish Malt Distillers (SMD), later part of Diageo.
In 1972, the company's own malthouse was closed and the number of stills doubled to four.
In 1998, Bacardi bought John Dewar & Sons and has owned Aberfeldy ever since.
The Aberfeldy single malt is still the heart of the "Dewars" blends.
Aberfeldy Facts & Figures
Address: Aberfeldy , Perthshire PH15 2EB
Founded: 1896 by John and Tommy Dewar
Status: active
Owner: John Dewar & Sons (Bacardi)
Capacity: approx. 3,400,000 liters
2 wash stills (17,000 l)
2 spirit stills (14,000 l)
Water: Pitilie Burn
Visitor Centre: Yes
Phone:+44 (0)1887 / 822010
Website: www.dewars.com
How does Aberlour whisky taste?
Elegant, round, balanced - these terms come up when it comes to describing the Aberlour house style. Aberlour is a non-smoky and very sweet and fruity single malt. Aromas of red apples, honey and soft nutty notes can be found in Aberlour whiskys. Depending on the bottling and cask composition, the caramel and vanilla tones or the berry sherry notes are more emphasized. With this smooth and tasteful whisky you'll easily convince your friends to drink single malt.
How Aberlour Single Malt is made
Most of today's beautiful stone buildings, where Aberlour whisky is made, were built in 1892. The distillery is just a stone's throw from the River Spey, which owes its name to the legendary Speyside whisky region. However, the name Aberlour comes from the small river of the Lour. Literally translated, Aberlour means "mouth of the Lour", where the distillery is located. The source of Aberlour's clear water, St. Drozdan's Well, is said to have healing magic powers. Once you've visited the nearby Linn Falls, you too will believe it. Because this magically beautiful little waterfall once served as a place of worship for Celts and Druids. The Lour flows past the Standing Stones of Fairy Hill. Who wouldn't want this magical water in their whisky?
The water of the Lour River is used for the cooling systems of the stills. However, this returns untouched back into the river, because only pure spring water goes into the whisky itself. Fermentation takes place in six large stainless steel washbacks. Today, Aberlour distills the new make for the single malt whisky on four onion-shaped pot stills. The copper stills have no bulges. Aberlour Single Malt matures in both ex-bourbon casks and ex-sherry casks. The malty, fruity spirit works well with both American and European oak. In France, Aberlour is one of the best-selling malt whiskys. Aberlour Single Malt is also used in some blends, as in the Scotch Clan Campbell.
The history of Aberlour - three birthdays!
Aberlour can basically celebrate three birthdays. The distillery was first built in 1826. However, it fell victim to a major fire in 1878. In 1879 James Fleming, also owner of the nearby Dailuaine Distillery, rebuilt Aberlour. The current location was chosen partly because of St Drozdan's spring, which was said to have healing powers. Then in 1898 came another low blow. Another fire destroyed the distillery buildings and stock. A bitter setback for every whisky distillery. Several changes of ownership followed until Aberlour was taken over by the French beverage company Pernod Ricard in 1975. Since then, Aberlour has obviously been in good hands with the Scottish subsidiary Chivas Brother. In 2002 a small visitor center was opened. Let's keep our fingers crossed that a fourth birthday won't be necessary.
The Aberlour range & recommendations
The nice thing about Aberlour is that the range offers suitable bottlings for every whisky lover. The bottlings with low ABV are ideal for introducing newcomers to the topic of single malt whisky. An example is the mild, drinkable Aberlour 10 year old Forest Reserve and the Aberlour 12 year old Double Cask. For a velvety soft and more profound taste experience, reach out for the older variants such as the Aberlour 16 Years Double Cask Matured or the Aberlour 18 Years.
For experienced whisky lovers, Aberlour has specially created a version of the 12-year-old single malt without chill filtration and with a higher drinking strength. The Aberlour 12 Years Non Chill-Filtered comes with 48% vol. Therefore the aromas are more intense. The Aberlour Casg Annamh is also served with an increased drinking strength of 48% vol. The popular Aberlour A'bunadh bottlings go one step further. These come in bold cask strength and are also non-chill filtered. These Cask Strength bottlings are bottled batches, so they vary slightly in character, but are always worth buying. Aberlour A'bunadh was originally created to be fully matured in casks that previously held sherry. So you can enjoy the full impact of the sherry cask maturation. There is now also a variant made from ex-bourbon casks with the Aberlour A'bunadh Alba. Here you can explore the light fruity side of this excellent Scotch whisky.
Facts & Figures about Aberlour
Address: Charlestown of Aberlour, Banffshire, AB3 9PJ, Scotland
Founded: originally in 1826 by James Gordon and Peter Weir, now in 1879 by James Fleming
Region: Speyside Whisky
Owner: Pernod Ricard, Chivas Brothers Ltd
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Smoke: Unpeated/ Non-smoky
Status: active
Capacity: approx. 3,800,00 lpa (litres per year)
Stills: 2 wash stills (21,120 l), 2 spirit stills (total 35,456 l)
Washbacks: 6, stainless steel
Mashtun: Semi Lauter, 12 tons
Water: Springs at Ben Rinnes, St Drozdan's Spring
Visitor Center: Yes
Telephone: +44 (0)1340 / 881249
Website: www.aberlour.com
Directions to the Aberfeldy Distillery
picture credits/ source of photos: Leon Schuster, Malt Mariners
