THE ABERLOUR STORY

The esteemed grandson of an Ozone's founder, the inimitable Walter Smedley III, happened to come across an advertisement in the Wall Street Journal. It was in the year of our lord 1989. The advertisement was for purchasing an entire hogshead of whisky from the Aberlour Distillery in the heart of Speyside.  Never one to shy away from thinking big, Walter warmed to the idea upon recognizing that when the whisky completed its maturation after 10 years, it would be just in time for Ozone’s centennial year.1  So he reached out to a healthy handful of his Ozone brethren2 as well as a close client/friend in order to gather the funds needed to initiate the purchase. (Details of purchase)3  

The Aberlour Story 
(An artfully embellished version)

Below is a recounting of the same events by the very Walter Smedley III who spearheaded the detour to Aberlour and was in the driver’s seat at the time.  It should be pointed out that his account includes the following disclaimer:  “My story is written some 35 years after the event occurred, according to Carl’s notes written above.  I am of sound mind, but that does not assure me of recalling all the details correctly.”  

On the occasion of the trip in question to visit the Aberlour Distillery, we had played that morning at Nairn where there had recently been a Walker Cup match.  With the distillery being about an hour and a half drive from Nairn, south of Elgin in Charlestown of Aberlour (near Craigellachie), I persuaded Dad and Carl and Bill to take a drive down to the distillery to look at the hogshead of whisky we had ordered. I think it had been “distilling” for about nine of the ten years since I had ordered it, but I’m not sure of that. 

In any event, we drove down through Elgin, through Rothes where the winding Spey River comes into sight to Charlestown of Aberlour where the charming headquarters building of the distillery met us, perched right on the side of the road.  However, the gate into the property was closed (broad daylight though it was, it was just 5pm), and not a sole was around.  What a  great disappointment!  Undeterred, since I was driving, I persuaded my crew to get out and walk around, perhaps running into someone, anyone, who could let us wander around the five or six warehouses, just to see where all the hogsheads were housed, perhaps even being lucky enough to discover that they were stacked according to the customer’s name.  

 As I said above, of course I had some explaining to do, but Dad had already taken the lead.  Everyone was in a good mood, and the next thing I knew we were all headed back down the dirt path for what turned out to be an hour-long tour of the entire facility, including the beautifully clean vats and other “laboratory-type” equipment, blithely, and with permission, sampling small test tubes full of the Spey River mixed with various stages of distilled malt.5

After studying the lay out for some time, I returned to the main dirt road, hearing shouts from my three Ozoners to return immediately to the gate.  A few minutes later I was greeted not only by my crew but also by a fourth chap wearing a tie in shirtsleeves.  I should note that my father was wearing a golf sweater and (always) a tie, as I was, in addition to my Ozone club jacket, while Bill and Carl were dressed as they were when we played golf earlier in the day. Of course, I had some explaining to do, but the group was in a wonderfully chatty mood, I was happy to see, and I was introduced to Mr. Alan Winchester, the manager and president of the distillery!  He had just been leaving when our boys ran into him as they were searching for me!

We finally staggered back to the charming,16th Century headquarters’ building right next to the gate and found ourselves being welcomed by Alan to join him in his ancient office to sample the finished product!  Another  hour went by with each of us feeling no pain as Alan regaled us with story after story of the Aberlour history.

 As I wrote earlier above, I can’t remember how much time elapsed from this visit to delivery in Philadelphia, but it all went exactly as planned, and by my unofficial count, there are still a few bottles of the original half-hogshead still outstanding.

This is my story, and I’m sticking to it! - Smeds

Ten years later in the year 2000, Carl Berlinger, the newly appointed president, decided that the occasion of the centennial warranted a celebratory trip to the home of golf.  So he arranged an “a la carte” Ozone trip across the great pond to play a few rounds in Scotland.4  It was the first full day after the Ozone gang had arrived and had played its first round at Nairn that Walter Smedley proposed to his foursome (his old man, Bill Giese, & Carl Berlinger) that they take a side trip to the Aberlour distillery to check in on the hogshead he had ordered a decade before. Here is the account of that afternoon’s events according to the notes Carl recorded at the time in his daily journal:

We concluded with a stop in the director’s office, sipping the goods from crystal glasses whilst perched on leather couches. What a way to end the day! After about an hour and a photograph by the big Aberlour sign (using my golf bag as a tripod with my Nikon nestled tightly in between my 3-wood and my 4-wood,) we drove off to Granton-on-Spey through the Spey Valley, past a smorgasbord of malt whisky distilleries, and back up to Inverness for dinner. 

29 June Thursday Inverness.Nairn.Aberlour

After lunch we decided to go in search of the Aberlour distillery, the same from which we bought the half a hogs head of whisky.  We found the route to Elgin and then turned south to Aberlour. After a stop at the Walker's Shortbread factory we found the Aberlour distillery. It was closed, so young Walter started poking around. Then along came a young chap in a shirt and tie who looked official. We informed him that we were customers and about the Ozone Club’s purchase, whereupon he took us on a tour of the whole place. He was Alan Winchester, Aberlour’s production manager, a fountain of information and a splendid host.

NOTES

1.  It is worth acknowledging that the date on each bottle is off by one year. The Ozone Club began in 1901, not 1900.  When Brother Smedley III placed the order for the hogsheads in 1989, Carl hadn’t written our grand history, Down the Fairway and In the Rough with the Ozone, and he and his fellow Ozoners were mistakenly under the impression that Ozone’s centenary coincided with the turn of the millennium.  

2.  Walter extends a huge “Thank You” to all who contributed to the purchase:  In particular, his client/friend, Don Wright, who subscribed to half the total (160 bottles), his father of course, as well as Barclay White, Carl Berlinger, Bill Giese, Charlie Humpton, Rick Unger, David Smith (who, by his own account, wasn’t into whisky in 1989 when approached by brother Walter, but who thought he might develop a taste for sacred spirit over the course of the next decade. When this turned out not to be the case, he donated a portion of his allotment to the Ozone Club earmarked annually for the winner of the Ozone Bowl.) and a few other Ozoners for completing the balance.  

3. A hogshead contains 238.48 liters, or about 64 gallons.  Walter was required to place a purchase order ten years in advance for an entire hogshead at a cost of about $34 per bottle, $17 per bottle upon order and another $17 per bottle upon final delivery in Philadelphia. A hogshead yields approximately 317 bottles, each containing 750 ml. This translated to $5,389 initially and then another similar payment ten years later.  

4. The Centennial Scottish excursion:  There were just six hearty Ozoners who joined Carl on the trip: The father-son Smedley duo, Bill Giese, Bruce Lindsay, and Cory Smith.  Just Carl for the first three days before the rest of the Ozone gang arrrived.  Carl stayed just east of Edinburgh at Longniddry and played Dunbar on the Sunday afternoon of his arrival, then Kilspindie on Monday and Luffness New on Tuesday.  He met the rest of the Ozone gang on Wednesday and they all drove up to Inverness. On Thrusday the six Ozoners played Nairn in the morning, (with the side trip to Aberlour in the afternoon for the two Smedleys, Carl and Bill), Dornoch on Friday. A double header on Saturday, July 1st: a match at Brora in the morning and at Tain in the afternoon. On Sunday 2nd they played Boat of Garten, and finished off phase one of the trip on Monday 3rd with another round at Dornoch. 

The six Ozoners then spent Independence Day traveling from Inverness to Cruden Bay Golf Club to begin their 2nd phase of competition before continuing their way Dundee for the night. On Wednesday 5th, they continued their trip eastward to a B&B in Portobello.  Once unpacked they headed over for a round at North Berwick.  Thursday at Gullane, and Friday, after a visit to the R&A in St. Andrews (closed for the upcoming Open,) they headed up to Panmure Golf Club in Barry for Ozone’s first international competition against their local hosts. Saturday back at Kilspindie for a second and final round with their Scottish hosts. They headed homeward on Sunday.  

5.  It should be noted that according to the Aberlour website, “The exceptionally pure, soft spring water used for making Aberlour whisky is drawn from nearby natural springs.”  …not from the River Spey itself.