Head to head · same category, comparable price
Aberlour A'bunadh vs The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old
They diverge on 2 of our eight axes, most of all sherried, 9 against 6.
Compiled by WhiskeyCask Editorial · Last verified 2026-07-30
Specifications side by side
| Aberlour A'bunadh | The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Single malt | Single malt |
| Origin | Speyside, Scotland | Speyside, Scotland |
| Age | No age statement | 12 years |
| Strength | Not published | 43% ABV |
| Cask | Oloroso sherry butt | Ex-bourbon barrel, Oloroso sherry butt |
| Bottle | 700 ml | 700 ml |
| RRP observed | £70 | £50 |
| Per 10cl | £10 | £7.14 |
| Per litre of alcohol | — | £166 |
| Chill-filtered | Not stated | Not stated |
What separates them
Both Speyside whiskies, from different distilleries.
The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old states 12 years; Aberlour A'bunadh states none.
Shared base of oloroso sherry butt. The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old adds ex-bourbon barrel.
Neither states chill filtration.
The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old: specifications not yet producer-confirmed.
What the price buys
Aberlour A'bunadh is £20 dearer a bottle than The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old.
Aberlour A'bunadh publishes no strength, so we will not cost it per litre of alcohol.
Flavour, compared
View as table
| Axis | Aberlour A'bunadh | The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old |
|---|---|---|
| Peaty | 0 | 0 |
| Sweet | 8 | 8 |
| Fruity | 7 | 6 |
| Spicy | 6 | 4 |
| Woody | 6 | 5 |
| Sherried | 9 | 6 |
| Cereal | 5 | 5 |
| Oily | 9 | 6 |
2 of the eight axes clear 3 points; after sherried comes oily at 9 against 6.
Identical on peaty, sweet and cereal.
Each bottle in its own right
Aberlour A'bunadh
Enormous sherried fruit at cask strength. Batch to batch it moves, which is the point.
We publish no ABV because there isn't one: A'bunadh is released in sequential batches, each bottled at its own cask strength, and Aberlour states only 'cask strength' with no number. Any single ABV you see quoted for it is batch-specific. A'bunadh means 'the original' in Gaelic.
Full record →The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old
Honey, cinnamon and nutmeg. Sweet without being cloying, and 43% helps.
Full record →No overlap in what we list them for: Aberlour A'bunadh for cask strength and sherry bombs, The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old for gift and after dinner.
Where these specifications come from
Producer and retailer pages for Aberlour A'bunadh and The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old: aberlour.com, thebalvenie.com. Figures are what those pages published when we last checked them, on 2026-07-30.