A'bunadh

A'bunadh is a cask-strength single malt whisky from the Aberlour distillery in Scotland. Though it has no age statement, it is released in limited run batches, each batch carrying a unique number on its label.

Most scotch whisky is aged in oak barrels, or casks, that previously held American bourbon. A'bunadh is exclusively aged in Spanish oak Oloroso sherry butts and therefore has a sweeter, softer flavor than most scotch. Some distilleries, most notably Macallan also age their whisky in sherry casks. At one time, sherry casks were universally used for maturing scotch whisky.

Almost all scotch whisky is chill filtered, a process in which the aged spirit is cooled before filtering. A'bunadh is not chill filtered. The advantage or disadvantage of chill filtering is under some debate.

The word a'bunadh is roughly translated into English from Scottish Gaelic as "original."

Released batch numbers

The taste of the individual batches can vary significantly. Batch 15 had a distinct caramel note, batch 17 a dark chocolate note. As of June 2008 only batches 20, 21, and 22 can be found easily any more, most of the earlier batches are gone from normal sales channels.

The "rum-raisin" finish that strongly characterized batches 10-12 are still faintly perceptible in the 15-16th batches, yet completely non-existant by batch 20.