A'bunadh batches to avoid?

Essentially, every batch has people who like it, and many batches have people who don't. It really all comes down to the taste.

For instance, on a popular site, All Things Whisky, the host reviewed batch 36 and while not his favourite, he liked it. I tried it and was underwhelmed (though the bottle has improved with time). On this site I've heard bad things about 46 but one member liked it better than other batches.

In general, 27 and to a greater extent 41 were felt to be below the standard set, while it seems 28 is a classic , 33 and 42 and 44 were great, and 45 was well-liked (looking forward to opening that one in 2 months).

Your best bet is to try before you buy if you can, but remember, if the bottle from which you sample has been open a while, and you like it, don't be alarmed if your first dram from a bottle you shelled out almost $100CAD for isn't the same. It will develop.

Ultimately, if you have a choice between many batches, your best bet is to message me with the location...

But seriously, unless you're in a shop with low volume high end sales, you're likely to have only one or two choices, between 45-47. SO look for 44, 45 and 47 (still untested as it is so new) but if 46 is your only choice, a bad A'Bunadh still beats a good Johnny Walker (if there is one).

@HeartlessNinny: Batch #'s 42 and 45 are both excellent! Like all a'Bunadh batches they benefit enormously from exposure to air as @Nozinan has pointed out. A large Decanter with a large air-space is ideal; no Decanter, no problem, simply pour half into a clean (rinsed with Whisky) bottle. The a'Bunadh bot. is itself an excellent Decanter and if you can save the 1/2 bot. for a few months untouched and in a cool dark spot you will be amazed. Batch #42 is now singing my kind of song!

Cheers and Good Luck!

Thanks for the advice, gentlemen.

I am currently avoiding $ 153 per bottle batches of A'bunadh. There are Signs of Renewed Life locally. Aberlour A'bunadh had recently gone to a non-sale price of $ 139.99 plus 9% tax at my local county stores. I noticed yesterday that the local non-sale price is now a "mere" $ 96.99 plus 9% tax. I imagine that they were not selling any A'bunadh at $ 153. I imagine that they were not selling any A'bunadh when they discounted it from $ 139.99 to $ 119.99 plus 9% tax. Now, at $ 106 including tax, they will probably sell some A'bunadh, but it is still relatively expensive here. Didn't used to be expensive here, but it is now.

@Victor Is this bizarro-world? Ontario has a better price on a whisky than somewhere else? Shocking. A’Bunadh is a mere $99.99 taxes in here. What a deal !!

@OdysseusUnbound, yes I was telling @Nozinan a few months ago that I would probably now be buying my A'bunadh in Ontario. Hard to believe, I know. CAN $ 100 still remains a good deal cheaper than US$ 106. Things might change in an adverse way in Ontario, though. That's not a bad bet.

This is not just "somewhere else". Seven years ago we had perhaps the lowest whisk(e)y prices on earth here. No more, though still very good on many products.

. . . hmm, seems the US are paying quite high prices for this, which seems unusual?! Was on sale here recently for under £40 which is decent value.