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.

N: Distinct red and green apple notes with a mish-mash of other orchard notes. Something like a peach scented hand soap. Some wet grass and dirt funk in the background. Some mint and other dried herbs. Maybe a hint of cigarette smoke, but maybe @Ctrexman just put that in my brain and I'm imagining it. P: Red apple with a dash of strawberry flavoring (not real strawberry). Has a sort of apple juice quality too. Middle has some round malt notes with a touch of caramel, vanilla, and white bread, but the mouthfeel is notably thin. Flash of cinnamon dusted custard with toffee bits pushes the pour along to the finish. Finish has a touch of heat with a baking spice character. That earthy funk from the nose comes back and feels like it has some peat elements now - it's kind of a lingering wet moss, which is not as bad as it sounds, but it's not great either. This is basically a completely forgettable blend. This is no JW Black that even an experienced scotch drinker might occasionally want to revisit for old time's sake. It's not a malt forward Famous Grouse or Monkey Shoulder. It's certainly not on par with any Compass Box. Best thing I think I can say about this is that it does seem to have some the same profile as the much beloved JW Green, but it's as if the notes are all in the wrong key and played in the wrong order here. The earthy and herbal notes of the Green get merged with a solid malt backbone and a hearty, chewy mouthfeel with a small bonfire that was doused with sea spray. Here, the herbs are wilted and drowning in bowl of watered down apple juice that a toddler then decided to dump a cereal box onto while someone is smoking a cigarette in the next room. That said, I've had no trouble finishing the bottle - it's not drain pour bad. I don't even think I would say it's actually bad, just kind of blah and forgettable. And overpriced, but that's not surprising and it's still relatively cheap, so it's even forgettable on the VFM front. _______ A bunch of regular Distiller reviewers are chatting in real time on Discord. Please join: https://discord.gg/crpksjtkMu. (If the link is expired, post a comment and I can get a new one.)

My Internet crashed today which is a terrible thing to do to a tech head. No fishing because the weather is weird. What's a guy to do? A Scotch whisky tasting, of course! Three interesting and inexpensive 12 year blends are my focus today. Let's examine each in turn. The nose on the Old Parr is earthy with notes of rich wildflower honey, loam, ripe apples and pears with top notes of oxidized sherry. Buchanan's is lighter with prominent notes of Worther's Original, apple skins, strawberries, and slight lemon. The Chivas is the lightest of the three. Granny Smith apple, dry autumn fields, fresh berries and dry grain are all in play. On the taste buds these are fierce competitors. I haven't had Chivas since maybe the last century. Let's say this is new to me. Light apple skins, honey and barley grain make for a delicate sip. Sherry fruits come in mid palate. The finish is short. This is easy. Buchanan's is in my regular rotation. It lies between Dewar's 12 (a very close friend) and Johnnie Walker Black, which are also in my regular rotation. These are my "Rob Roy" stalwarts. Dependable and satisfying. The Buchanans has a richer mouth feel than the Chivas, and a little more intense flavor. Both seem to be cut from similar cloth and it would be hard to tell one from the other if they weren't tasted side by side. Old Parr is richer still. Creamier mouth feel accompanies a waft of smoke, raw honey and echoes of Spanish sherry. Simply lovely. The take-away? These are all more than acceptable whiskies and all are competitively priced. I can't imagine anyone tasting these three and finding any one of them objectionable. They are all pretty darn good! If I had to pick, my favorite today would be the Old Parr. That's just where my taste buds lead me right now. Tomorrow it could easily be one of the others. I'm happy they're all in my cabinet. Slaite!

This bottle has surpassed Hudson Baby Bourbon as the most aggravating bottle to open in all my years. The top did not unscrew--didn't even budge. It took a hammer and a flathead screwdriver just to get to the marble stopper that everyone seemed to have a problem with, at least according to the internet. I'll try to forget my frustration from that night and give unbiased review (maybe.) Nose: A little faint. Patience reveals some pretty nice notes though. Orange, pineapple, and cucumber. Green, grainy, grassy notes. Malt, caramel, vanilla, and milk chocolate. A little bit of metallic grain, which is a mild detractor. Oak. Not even a hint of alcohol burn. Palate: Green apple and pear. Apricot and banana. Cocoa and caramel. Vanilla and malt. Orange and pineapple. Toffee and milk chocolate. Cucumber and agave. Honey. None of the astringent notes from the nose. Rock solid palate. Finish: Malt, vanilla, milk chocolate. Cucumber and apricot. Banana and green apple. Orange, lemon, and cucumber. Light baking spice and oak. Moderate length, which is surprising at 40% ABV. Good stuff. Bottle opening difficulties aside, this is a great blend. I know it's a Diageo product, but it was hard to find any info on its single malt components. I read Dalwhinnie a couple places. That's a great base. Couldn't find anything else. Whatever comprises this blend, it works. This is probably the best blended Scotch I've reviewed, though I will buy the Compass Box core releases in time. Buchanan's 12 is much better than Hedonism, and I can get 3 bottles of the former for the cost of one of the latter. $33 is a bargain for a blend like this. Great bottle to bring to a party for casual whiskey drinkers or to order at a dive bar. 3.5/5.

I used to run sound and lights for a cover band years ago. We were pretty dialed into the Chinese restaurant circuit. They had small rooms where they would pack the people in and my goal was to rattle some glasses off the bar rack they hung on. We would plow through 3 sets and get outta there 1-2oclock depending on which state we were in. This was back when EVERYONE smoked and inside was encouraged. Id get home and smell it on my clothes then jump in the shower and as soon as the water hits a blast of old used stale cigarette smoke would explode. That is Im afraid the smoke character in this scotch. The nose has a little vanilla and a little malt but mainly slightly bitter barrel and the smoke. Palate is more bitter wood and stale smoke with a flash of malt sweetness but fruit is lacking imo. Finishes dry with the grain kicking in a bit and the wood tannins alongside the tired smoke. It has a bit too much of someone put out a marlboro on your tongue for me but this is pretty popular in South America. Overall its not as bad as it sounds with some decent malt characteristics but off my list of repurchase........70/100.....its still scotch and perhaps the smoke profile can be grown into.......Side note: people need to get over the bottle pouring- just tip it upside down over the glass and shake the bottle a little and voila

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