Collector sells his vertical 66 bottle collection of Aberlour A'bunadh

A rarely seen vertical collection of Aberlour A’bunadh has gone on sale. Aberlour A'bunadh is one of the largest ongoing whisky series of all time. The series launched in 2000 and is released in limited-run batches. This vertical has 66 bottles and has gone on sale for £15,884 through leading whisky broker Mark Littler Ltd. Littler specialises in helping people sell rare whisky bottles and collections. In 2020, he helped Matthew Robson sell his 28 bottle collection of Macallan single malt for over £40,000.

Aberlour A'bunadh

A'bundadh means 'the original' in Gaelic. Aberlour’s A’bunadh owes its origins to a bottle buried in the foundation of its still room dating back to 1898. Workers found the bottle in 1973. Legend has it they drank half before sending the remaining whisky to Aberlour's lab. The A’bunadh whisky is a loving recreation of this lost single malt.

66 Bottle Vertical Collection

The collection was built up over 10 years by Jon O'Connell from York. He first discovered the Speyside single malt whisky after a fishing trip in Scotland. O’Connell, a biologist, fell in love with Aberlour A’bunadh after enjoying a dram with a fishing friend. He then spent 10 years collecting a bottle from every batch ever made from auctions and whisky shops.

The collection includes two sought after special edition batch bottlings. A’bunadh Silver Label Millennium Edition, bottled in 1999 for the millennium celebrations. And, the Silver A’bunadh, a limited collection consisting of only 37 bottles.

O'Connell said: “What a day it was meeting that fisherman and sharing a dram of Aberlour A’bunadh. I’d never seen anything like it before. So I decided to buy myself a bottle. From there, I set myself a challenge to collect a bottle from every batch ever produced. It took 10 years to track all the bottles down, with batch 15 being the most difficult. When I finally got my hands on the last bottle to complete my collection, I felt a real sense of achievement. I’ve decided to put them up for sale because they would make for a wonderful present for someone. Particularly that fisherman that inspired me all those years ago!”

Available at Mark Littler Ltd

Mark Littler said: “This vertical collection of A’bunadh whisky is the largest whisky collection that we have ever sold. Having a bottle from every batch ever produced makes this unique. Jon’s decision to start collecting bottles of whisky was a great one. We are seeing more people invest in whisky the way that Jon has. If you can amass a collection like his then it can be very rewarding indeed.”