Buchanan's De Luxe 12 Year

My first time with this blended scotch. I've purchased this, along with Kirkland 12 Year Blended scotch, Dewar's 12, Cutty Sark Prohibition to look for a winner in the "handle of scotch" category. I love an occasional Rob Roy, Bobby Burns, scotch & soda, or pour on the rocks (particularly with a large coconut water cube). Which of the blends is the best choice? I'm looking at all these and comparing them to Johnnie Walker Black, Naked Malt, Monkey Shoulder and others, trying to keep my cocktail game fresh. Tasted neat from a grappa copita, this blend is nicely honeyed, with sweet breakfast cereal, apples, slight pears and a whisper of dry smoke. This isn't the smoke I associate with a Islay, but more along the lines of the ashy smoke I get from a lot of mezcals. It's slight, unusual and somewhat pleasant. You know what's not pleasant? That damned pour spout restrictor on the Buchanan's bottle. Very unnecessary, but I'll think of it as a nod to Luxardo Maraschino and move on... On the tongue this whiskey has a sweet entry, nice bit of malty body with a cigarette ash overlay and a fast, sweet finish with some traces of black pepper. It's nicely balanced, offers some dry fruitiness and is a bit more complex than the Kirkland 12 blend. It's not as "juicy" as the Dewars 12. In a Rob Roy this is excellent. I'm pouring them 2:1 and using Cnia Mata Spanish Tinto Reservo which is something like the love child of Punt e Mes and Antica. The Buchanan's is robust enough to stand up to this potent-but-detailed vermouth. with good mouthfeel, flavor development and really good standing power against the slight dilution of the ice. This is a very, very good blended scotch. Its price, in my Tampa region market, falls somewhere between Dewars 12 and Johnnie Walker Black. I like it enough to put it into rotation, but it will be hard for me to justify buying it in handles. I'll be revisiting this in the future. I see there's a pineapple version of this and I'm wondering if that might work in a wonky Rob Roy cousin. That might be worth the experiment. As it stands this is a solid blend. It's not a great vfm and not indispensable on my bar but worth the price of entry to find out.

In theory, all Buchanans are 12 year old blend, but this bottle is very old and the label doesn't say if this bottle keeps a 12 year old blend.

Buchanan's De Luxe 12 Year is said to be of the same quality as Black and White Scotch, but it is overpriced. The nose is greeted with exotic aromas of smoke, peat, walnuts, and caramel. However, the entry is thin and only brings out the flavors of cinnamon and caramel. The finish is brief and has a taste of smoke, peat, and cocoa. Although it is a Latino fad created by Diageo, it doesn't have much substance compared to other brands in the same price range such as Johnnie Walker Black Label, Old Parr 12 years old, and Haig Pinch Dimple 15 years old of Diageo Brands, which are better alternatives.

A very light, sweet, honey floral nose reminiscent of Irish whiskey but with a pinch of peat smoke. I also get vanilla, a hint of lemon, mandarin, hay, honeydew melon, and even a little caramelized grilled pineapple. Sweet on the palate as well, with a mild peppery spice, but a surprising pop of peat far more potent than that detected in the nose. There’s candied lemon peel, Bosc pear, thin caramel, tootsie roll, and lots of ash. Light bodied, yet chewable, quick in the glass and legless. The finish is woody, sooty, mineral, even slightly metallic like licking a used fireplace, but some of that caramel hangs on with a pinch of cinnamon keeping it from becoming unpleasant. It’s almost like the finish on some mezcals I’ve had. Overall, not a bad blend if you’re a fan of highland malts or just getting into the heavily peated Islays. Nose: 8 Taste: 8 Body: 7 Finish: 7