Aberlour A’bunadh Cask Strength Single Malt

The A’bunadh is a cask strength, no-age-statement single malt Scotch whisky from the house of Aberlour. Its name is derived from the Scottish Gaelic term for ‘the original’ or ‘the origin’, and the expression was created in honour of founder James Fleming.

A small batch whisky, the A’bunadh is released in limited quantities and bottled at cask strength at the iconic Speyside distillery is located near the confluence of the rivers Lour and Spey, town of Aberlour, Moray County.

History

James Fleming, founder and Master Distiller at the Aberlour Distillery established the business in 1879 in the town of Aberlour, naming his distillery after the town itself.

He had previously been employed at the Dailuiane Distillery for nearly a decade, and through his experience, he successfully built and ran the Aberlour Distillery until his death in 1895.

Aberlour was eventually bought by Robert Thorne & Sons who ran the business until 1921 eventually selling to W.H. Holt & Sons, who then sold the distillery to S. Campbell & Sons Ltd in 1945.

Even as the business changed hands, the Aberlour Whisky quality was maintained by the people behind the brand itself as Aberlour finally found stability and nurturing under Pernod Ricard, the French alcoholic beverages conglomerate who purchased the company in 1975.

Making Process

The Aberlour A’bunadh is a non-chill filtered whisky, meaning the presence of some cloudiness and debris in the whisky should be expected.

The single malt whisky, selected and blended from a number of excellent batches at the Aberlour Distillery are finished in carefully selected Spanish Oloroso Sherry barrels, lending the Speyside whisky an excellent flavour profile.

The A’bunadh is also a cask strength whisky, meaning it is bottled at the original strength at which it is matured and removed from the barrels, and not diluted at all. Since the A’bunadh is a limited batch whisky, it is produced and released in limited quantities, with every released batch being hand-made.

Alcohol Percentage

The Aberlour A’bunadh is a small batch whisky, and bottled at cask-strength meaning not all batches of the A’bunadh carry a consistent alcohol strength. Although the alcohol strength carried by most bottlings of the A’bunadh ranges between 61% ABV to 59% ABV, which is significantly higher than the standard permissible limit for Scotch whiskies.

Awards

The Aberlour A’bunadh cask strength single malt Scotch whisky has not won any major whisky tasting awards or medals.