Head to head · same category, comparable price
Aberlour A'bunadh vs The Macallan 12 Year Old Double Cask
One axis separates these two: oily, 9 against 6.
Compiled by WhiskeyCask Editorial · Last verified 2026-07-30
Specifications side by side
| Aberlour A'bunadh | The Macallan 12 Year Old Double Cask | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Single malt | Single malt |
| Origin | Speyside, Scotland | Speyside, Scotland |
| Age | No age statement | 12 years |
| Strength | Not published | 40% ABV |
| Cask | Oloroso sherry butt | Ex-bourbon American oak, Oloroso sherry-seasoned American oak |
| Bottle | 700 ml | 700 ml |
| RRP observed | £70 | £72 |
| Per 10cl | £10 | £10 |
| Per litre of alcohol | — | £257 |
| Chill-filtered | Not stated | Not stated |
What separates them
Both Speyside whiskies, from different distilleries.
The Macallan 12 Year Old Double Cask states 12 years; Aberlour A'bunadh states none.
Cask as each producer describes it: Aberlour A'bunadh in oloroso sherry butt, The Macallan 12 Year Old Double Cask in ex-bourbon american oak and oloroso sherry-seasoned american oak.
Neither states chill filtration.
The Macallan 12 Year Old Double Cask: specifications not yet producer-confirmed.
What the price buys
The Macallan 12 Year Old Double Cask is £2.00 dearer a bottle than Aberlour A'bunadh.
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 Macallan 12 Year Old Double Cask |
|---|---|---|
| Peaty | 0 | 0 |
| Sweet | 8 | 7 |
| Fruity | 7 | 6 |
| Spicy | 6 | 4 |
| Woody | 6 | 5 |
| Sherried | 9 | 7 |
| Cereal | 5 | 4 |
| Oily | 9 | 6 |
That is the only axis of the eight to reach 3 points. Next widest is spicy, 6 against 4.
Level only on peaty, 0 each.
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 Macallan 12 Year Old Double Cask
Butterscotch, orange and a dry oak finish. Polished and very easy to like.
Full record →No overlap in what we list them for: Aberlour A'bunadh for cask strength and sherry bombs, The Macallan 12 Year Old Double Cask for gift and introduction to sherry cask.
Where these specifications come from
Producer and retailer pages for Aberlour A'bunadh and The Macallan 12 Year Old Double Cask: aberlour.com, themacallan.com. Figures are what those pages published when we last checked them, on 2026-07-30.