Aberlour A’bunadh is one of the most successful whisky series of all time, with a 66 bottle line-up to rival Port Charlotte’s Cask Exploration, and Macallan’s Folios.
We are excited to announce that you can become the owner of the entire Aberlour A’bunadh series so-far by purchasing the 66 bottle vertical on our shop.
The A’bundah series has a long history, making the vertical the perfect embodiment of the history of Aberlour.
Aberlour A’bunadh: A History
One of the most successful on-going series in whisky first introduced in 2000, Aberlour A’bunadh is a unique batch produced single malt whisky which has attained cult status amongst whisky connoisseurs. A’bunadh which means ‘the original’ in Gaelic, is made in homage to Aberlour’s founder, James Fleming, using only traditional methods.
Aberlour A’bunadh is a throwback to a time when people would bring any bottle, such as an apothecary bottle, to the distillery to be filled. The whisky would have been bottled at cask strength and not chill-filtered at natural colour. For these reasons A’bunadh is bottled in a replica apothecary bottle, at cask strength, natural colour, and sealed with wax.
A’bunadh is released in limited run batches as designated on the bottle labels, and carries no age statement. Exclusively aged in Oloroso sherry butts, A’bunadh is blended from a mix of first-fill and refill sherry casks ranging from five to twenty-five years old.
Each batch has a slightly different taste, colour, and proof strength. The first five A’bunadh batches had no specific batch designation, and are only distinguished by a silver-coloured label on the bottle. Batch 6 is the earliest official batch designation; since this release Aberlour have included the individual batch number and proof on each bottle.
While each batch is limited, the A’bunadh range also includes two highly sought-after special edition batch bottlings. A’bunadh Silver Label Millennium Edition is a cask strength 12-year-old bottling distilled in 1987, and bottled in 1999 in preparation for the millennium celebrations. The A’bunadh Silver Label batch consists of 2000 bottles, each adorned with an individually numbered sterling silver label.
The second special edition, Silver A’bunadh is an extremely limited run of only 37 bottles, and was bottled in 1999 at cask strength and aged for 12 years. Details about Silver A’bunadh are limited, provoking speculation the 37 bottles were produced from remnants found in casks used to produce one of the earliest A’bunadh batches.
The A’bunadh range owes its origins to a bottle buried in the foundations of Aberlour’s still room. Aberlour’s distillery guides tell the story that when the still room was extended in 1973, workmen discovered an 1898 newspaper about the distillery fire wrapped around a bottle of 1898 Aberlour.
By the time the distillery manager learned of the discovery the workmen had begun to enjoy the bottle’s contents, and over half the whisky was gone. The remainder was sent to Aberlour’s laboratory for analysis ultimately acting as the inspiration for A’bunadh, which is an attempt to recreate this lost single malt.
Batch No. / Edition Strength Bottle Size (cl.) Approx. year of bottling
1-5 59.6% 70cl 1997-1998
6 59.9% 70cl 1999
Silver Label 12yr. 58.7% 70cl 1999
Silver Edition 12yr. 58.07% 70cl 1999
7 59.9% 70cl 2000
8 60.2% 70cl 2001
9 60% 70cl 2002
10 59.8% 70cl 2003
11 59.8% 70cl 2003
12 60% 70cl 2004
13 59.8% 70cl 2005
14 59.5% 70cl 2005
15 59.6% 70cl 2005
16 59.6% 70cl 2005
17 60.2% 70cl 2006
18 59.7% 70cl 2006
19 59.9% 70cl 2007
20 60.5% 70cl 2007
21 59.5% 75cl 2007
22 59.3% 70cl 2007
23 60.2% 70cl 2008
24 60.2% 70cl 2008
25 60.4% 70cl 2008
26 60.6% 70cl 2009
27 60.1% 70cl 2009
28 59.7% 70cl 2009
29 59.9% 70cl 2009
30 59.8% 70cl 2010
31 60.5% 70cl 2010
32 60.4% 70cl 2010
33 60.9% 70cl 2010
34 59.5% 70cl 2010
35 60.3% 70cl 2010
36 60.1% 70cl 2011
37 59.6% 70cl 2011
38 60.3% 70cl 2011
39 59.8% 70cl 2012
40 60% 70cl 2012
41 59% 70cl 2012
42 60.3% 70cl 2012
44 59.7% 70cl 2012
45 60.2% 70cl 2013
46 60.4% 70cl 2013
47 60.7% 70cl 2014
48 59.7% 70cl 2014
49 60.1% 70cl 2014
50 59.6% 70cl 2014
51 60.8% 70cl 2015
52 60.5% 70cl 2015
53 59.7% 70cl 2015
54 60.7% 70cl 2015
55 60.9% 70cl 2016
56 61.2% 70cl 2016
57 60.7% 70cl 2016
58 61.1% 70cl 2016
59 60.9% 70cl 2017
60 60.3% 70cl 2017
61 60.8% 70cl 2017
62 59.9% 70cl 2018
63 61% 70cl 2018
64 59.9% 70cl 2019
65 59.5% 70cl 2019
66 59.2% 70cl 2019
67 59.8% 70cl 2020
68 61.5% 70cl 2020
69 61.2% 70cl 2021
A Brief History Of Aberlour
Originally founded by Peter Weir and James Gordon in 1826, Aberlour sits at the base of Scotland’s Ben Rinnes mountain. Aberlour has been rebuilt twice due to devastating fire damage; the first rebuild occurred in 1879 when local banker and grain merchant James Fleming financed and founded a new Aberlour distillery. A second fire resulted in Aberlour being rebuilt again in 1898, when it was redesigned by noted distillery architect Charles Doig. Remaining in independent ownership until 1974-75, Aberlour was purchased by spirit company Pernod Richard and transferred to the control of Chivas Brothers in 2001.
Aberlour’s whisky style balances malt and fruit including a distinctive blackcurrant note, and frequently gaining a toffee sweetness during maturation. The Aberlour range uses different variations of ex-sherry and ex-bourbon cask maturation and finishes.