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Release Notes
Meaning 'the original' in Gaelic, A'bunadh is made in homage to Aberlour's founder, James Fleming. A’bunadh is a whisky hand-made from start to finish with each batch being created to ensure a rich and complex flavour of moist raisin, and homemade fruit cake. It is bottled at cask strength resulting in a robust and deeply intense, Sherried whisky.
Aberlour
The Distillery: Aberlour
| Established: 1879 |
| Silent since: False |
| Address: Aberlour, Banffshire AB3 9PJ, UK |
| → website |
The Aberlour distillery lies in the heart of the Spey valley. Officially founded in 1879 by James Fleming, the history of distillation at the site goes back further, to at least 1826. Aberlour is Gaelic for "the mouth of the babbling brook". This probably refers to Saint Drostan"s Well, the local spring depicted on the labels of all official bottlings. That"s a nice bit of folklore, but it has little to do with the actual water source of the distillery; springs on the nearby mountain of Ben Rinnes. (The Benrinnes distillery is located in the town of Aberlour as well, a few miles to the south.) Folklore has been emphasised in the marketing of Aberlour"s malts ever since Campbell Distillers (now owned by Pernod Ricard) bought and expanded the distillery in 1945. I tried my first Aberlour 50 years later and was suitably impressed; great stuff!
Macallan had to introduce the "Fine Oak" range in 2004 because they were running out of sherry casks. At some point, Aberlour has to respond to the dire sherry situation in Spain as well - all the more reason to stock up now, while you still can! There are notable differences between different batches of the A"bunadh, but IMHO all were excellent.
In the new Millenium
Fortunately (and unlike some other marketing-driven malts I could mention), Aberlour usually delivers the goods. After playing second fiddle to Macallan as the premier sherry swig for a long time they may take the pole position in the forseeable future - provided they manage to maintain their constant quality and relatively friendly prices.
The heavily sherried character of many official bottlings of Aberlour is the result of an unusually high proportion of sherry matured malts in the vattings. The "traditional" Aberlour recipe is said to contain 25-50% sherry casked whisky, which is much more than usual. Of course, it remains to be seen if Aberlour will be able to keep producing malts according to this recipe. Macallan had to introduce the "Fine Oak" range in 2004 because they were running out of sherry casks. At some point, Aberlour has to respond to the dire sherry situation in Spain as well - all the more reason to stock up now, while you still can!
Unfortunately, modesty seems to be a dirty word for Pernod-Ricard. Take this quote from the box of the Aberlour Antique, for instance: "From the Aberlour Distillery comes the finest of all Speyside malts, Aberlour Antique". The finest of all Speyside malts? Hardly - in fact, most other Aberlours did better.
Nobody can accuse Pernod Ricard of consistency in their advertising either. Since the early 1990"s they used several different themes to strengthen the brand identity. "The Mystery That Is Aberlour" evolved into "Earth. Air. Fire Water." while the new slogan for the third millennium is "Let The Deed Show". Ah well, lets chalk it up to French fickleness ;-)
2003 - When some of the malt maniacs visited Speyside in May 2003, we also visited the Aberlour distillery. Filling your very own bottle of Aberlour at the end of the distillery tour (directly from either a sherry or a bourbon cask) is a memorable experience. The action picture shows, from left to right, our resident Australian malt maniac Craig Daniels, Canadian maniac Davin de kergommeaux (both sporting those fashionable Malt Madness T-shirts) and Indian malt maniac Krishna Nukala - who is obviously having the time of his life filling up his own bottle of Aberlour to bring to India with him. All in all, it was an excellent distillery tour.
2005 - Thanks to the constant high quality of the official bottlings, Aberlour had earned itself a spot in my ever changing list of Top 10 Favourite Distilleries by the end of 2005. After a decade of dramming I had sampled over two dozen expressions and only two of those earned a score below average; a very old (and possibly oxidized) 5cl sample of a 9yo official bottling and an independent 14yo bottling from Helen Arthur. In that last case I should have known better - up until now I"ve disliked almost every single bottling that Helen Arthur released under her name.
Trivia:
- In the early noughties Aberlour overtook Glenfiddich as the best selling single malt in France. Could the chauvinistic nature of our French friends have anything to do with that? Possibly, I imagine...
- The current Aberlour distillery wasn"t the first by that name; in 1826 Peter Weir and James Gordon founded a distillery with the same name a few miles down the Spey river. It was destroyed in a fire in 1879, after which the banker James Fleming built a new distillery by the same name at a new location.
- Founder James Fleming was a real whisky entrepreneur - he also owned the Daluaine distillery.
from Malt Maniacs
The Owner: Chivas Brothers
| Established: 1801 |
| Silent since: False |
| Address: Strathisla Distillery, Seafield Avenue, Keith, Banffshire, AB55 5BS, United Kingdom |
| → website |
Chivas Regal is a blended Scotch whisky produced by Chivas Brothers, owned by Pernod Ricard. According to the brand packaging, Chivas Brothers was first established in 1801 in Aberdeen, Scotland. The Chivas brand"s home is Strathisla Distillery at Keith, Moray in Speyside, Scotland. It is the market leading Scotch whisky aged 12 years and above in Europe and Asia Pacific. Chivas Regal sales have grown by 61% between 2002 and 2008.
In the early 1900s, Chivas Brothers decided to create their most aged blended Scotch whisky to export to the U.S, where the booming economy after the turn of the century was fueling demand for luxury goods. The whisky was named Chivas Regal.
Chivas Regal 25 Year Old was launched in 1909 as the original luxury Scotch, and became a leading brand in the U.S. Chivas Regal continued its success until prohibition in the 1920s.
In 1843, Chivas Brothers were granted a Royal Warrant to supply goods to Queen Victoria. Chivas Brothers was described in 1890 as "undoubtedly the finest purveying business in the north of Scotland" by "Scotland of Today" magazine.
During the 1850s, James Chivas decided to respond to his affluent customers" demands for a smoother whisky, by beginning to blend whiskies to create a proprietary blend to Chivas Brothers. Their first blended Scotch whisky named "Royal Glen Dee" was launched, followed in the 1860s by their second blended Scotch whisky, "Royal Strathythan".
The House of Schivas, a large mansion, was built at Schivas in Aberdeenshire in 1640. The name is derived from the Gaelic "seamhas", meaning narrow place.
Chivas Brothers traces its roots to the opening of a grocery store at 13 King St, Aberdeen in 1801. The store sold luxury foodstuffs such as coffee, exotic spices, French brandies, and Caribbean rums to a wealthy clientele. In 1842, Chivas Brothers were retained to supply provisions to the royal family at Balmoral Castle upon Queen Victoria"s first visit to Scotland.
Chivas Regal was purchased by Seagrams in 1949, which provided a much wider distribution and marketing system.
Chivas Regal was re-launched as Chivas Regal 12 year old in the US following the disruption of both Prohibition and World War II. Chivas became a fashionable brand of the era, and became associated with Frank Sinatra and the rest of the Rat Pack. Chivas Regal was the Scotch whisky requested by Sinatra, along with other spirits brands backstage at performances, and Chivas sponsored Frank Sinatra"s Diamond Jubilee Tour in 1990.
The Strathisla distillery is owned by Chivas Brothers, and Strathisla Single Malt is one of the malt whiskies used within the Chivas Regal blend.
Strathisla Single Malts have a natural sweetness and help to define the taste of Chivas Regal.
In 1950, the company Chivas Brothers was able to buy the Strathisla Distillery which produces the Strathisla Single Malt, which is used within the Chivas Regal blend.
The Chivas Regal range was expanded with the launch of higher aged whiskies, in 1997 with the launch of Chivas Regal 18 year old, and in 2007 with the launch of Chivas Regal 25.
Chivas Regal was acquired by Pernod Ricard in 2000 upon the break up of Seagrams Group.
The home of Chivas Regal and location of its visitor centre is located at the Strathisla distillery. The distillery was founded in 1786, and is the oldest working distillery in the Highlands of Scotland - Strathisla Distillery, located in Speyside.
from Wikipedia
The Owner: Pernod Ricard
| Established: 1975 |
| Silent since: False |
| Address: 12, place des Etats-Unis, 75783 Paris Cedex-16, France |
| → website |
HELLO WORLD!!! Pernod Ricard owns a wide variety of brands including: Chivas Regal, Glenlivet, Jameson Irish Whiskey, Seagram"s, Pernod absinthe, Absolut, Ricard pastis, Martell cognac, Jaconb"s Creek wine, pernod anise, Havana Club rum, Ballantine"s scotch, Kahlue, Malibu rum, Beefeater gun, Stolichnaya vodka, Mumm champagne and more.
Pernod Ricard came into existence when old rivals Pernod and Ricard merged to form Pernod Ricard S.A.. Ricard was founded 1932 in Marseille by Paul Ricard. Pernod started with Henri-Louis Pernod who opened his first absinthe distillery in Switzerland in 1797, followed by Maison Pernod Fils in Pontarlier. In 1926 these distilleries merged with Distillerie Hernard in Paris to form Les Etablissements Pernod.
After the 1975 merger that formed the current company a series of buy-ins and takeovers began that continues until this day. In 1988 PR acquired Irish Distillers which includes Jameson Irish Whiskeys, in 1989 PR acquired Orlando Wyndham (makers of Jacob"s Creek wine), in 2001 PR purchased 38% of Seagram"s Wines and Spirits, in 2005 PR purchased Allied Domecq and in 2008 PR bought V&S Group which includes the Absolut Vodka brand.
Reborn from the Pernod Fils company as a producer of anise liqueur following the ban on absinthe, it is now a worldwide conglomerate. It owns the alcoholic beverage division of the former Seagram corporation, among many other holdings. In 2005, the company acquired British-based international competitor Allied Domecq plc.
In 2008, Pernod Ricard announced the acquisition of Swedish-based V&S Group including Absolut Vodka.
Pernod Ricard (Euronext: RI) is a French company that produces alcoholic beverages. The company"s most famous products, Pernod Anise and Ricard Pastis, are both anise liqueurs, and often referred to as simply Pernod or Ricard. The company also produces several other types of pastis.
from Wikipedia