So glad that Distiller upgraded to allow multiple reviews for one product. Aberlour A’Bunadh is special in that it embraces batch variation like no other Scotch. They release batches with such rapidity that even the most avid collector cannot keep up, and yet the batches are varied to the point I start to ponder that this must be intentional. Buying a bottle can be an addiction, almost like gambling. This is a review of batch 34 (59.5% ABV). It is the oldest batch I own, and it is brilliant. If sherry bombs were truly bombs, this one generates a mushroom cloud. It tastes more like sherry than sherry itself. I almost never talk or care about the color of a whisky, but when it comes to a sherry bomb, where sherry is the only influence on the spirit, color matters. Darker really is better (if no coloring is used, of course). When I first started getting into Scotch, sherried Scotches were routinely as dark as bourbons. Macallan 12 and the original Balvenie 15 year single cask were $50 pickups that had the color of Mahogany. The first few batches of Aberlour A’bunadh were even better, and amongst the best whiskies I’ve ever had. In fact, the best sherried whisky I ever tried was a batch in the teens. Sadly I did not record the actual number, because I had assumed that all A’bunadh’s would be as good. Not true. But batch 34 comes close. It is brown in color and has the richest sultanas, dark chocolate, toffee, so oily and sticky… words escape me. It’s sinful, really. I’m married; and I’m not sure married people should be allowed this. It’s like sex while on drugs. I had to hunt for a second bottle of this, and finally found one for the odd price of $101. I’ve forgotten how much I paid for the bottle I have open, but it was definitely less. Alas, inflation. I think even the worst A’Bunadh’s are reasonable at around $80. The best ones are damned near priceless. As a rule-of-thumb hack for sherried whiskies that are not colored and are sold in clear bottles, examine the color. Mark: 95/100