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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.

The Bottles

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

Aberlour – A Brief History

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.