Prices for various batches of Aberlour A'bunadh

retire55 · February 6 2016 at 10:55PM

Earlier today, I perused scotchwhiskyauctions.com for my own edification. I happened to notice that the current bid for a bottle of Aberlour A'bunadh batch 37 (bottled in 2011) was 105 pounds while the current bid for a bottle of Aberlour A'bunadh batch 39 (bottled in 2012) was 100 pounds and the current bid for a bottle of Aberlour A'bunadh batch 44 (bottled in 2012) was 65 pounds.

For all batches of Aberlour A'bunadh released in 2014 and in 2015, there is no current bid above 45 pounds. I'm unsure as to why the 2014 and 2015 batches of Aberlour A'bunadh are cheaper. Did Aberlour change their formula for creating batches of Aberlour A'bunadh and consumers are unpleased? Is it a question of too few leader casks and too many filler casks? I'm confused. Consequently, I would appreciate some assistance in understanding what has happened. Thank you in advance.

SanctTom · February 7 2016 at 2:46PM

I think it is mostly a matter of availability.
Bottles of the 2014/2015 batches ars still available in a lot of shops - so they can't be sold for as high a price as some of the older batches. The number of bottles from follow-up batches doesn't seem to rise significantly (as batches seem to appear in ever shorter order).
True - there have been some exceptional batches in the earlier A'Bunadh history - but I don't think there is any problem with the newer batches - just the "usual" ups and downs of small batch expressions.
Of course, this is just my point of view without any background knowledge from the industry... so anybody else might express the exact opposite! :wink:

schnazola · February 18 2016 at 8:34PM

Bottles of the 2014/2015 batches are still available in a lot of shops - so they can't be sold for as high a price as some of the older batches.

I'm certain you are right, SanctTom. It's all about supply and demand, and the supply of bottles from the older batches is dwindling. I have a bottle of the A'bunadh on my shelf right now. It's from Batch No. 50. I paid US$85.00, and I would gladly pay more just for the experience of tasting an older batch number for comparison.