Buchanan’s De Luxe 12 year old blend

 

My favourite hobby when visiting new places is whisky hunting. Who knows what you might find on a dusty shelf somewhere, especially in countries where whisky consumption may lag behind other spirits such as rum or vodka. 

Spain was always a good hunting ground for me picking up old Bowmore’s, Springbank’s and Hazelburn’s, Caol Ila’s to name a few. So on my last visit there in 2022 I again resumed my sport. I picked up another Caol Ila 8 year old unpeated for €40 and that served as my house whisky for the week. I brought another of those back home too and also a bottle for Buchanan’s De Luxe 12 year old that was only €26 a bottle. 

Before I bought it though I contacted my Scotch oracle, Whisky Rover, and we agreed that although we couldn’t be absolutely sure, that the bottle did look like it was probably from the 90’s and so was worthy of a punt. I mean it was only €26 after all.

Blends often get overlooked especially after you move further into your whisky journey but it’s also worth remembering that in modern terms blends laid the foundation for the expansion of single malts and single pot still whiskies. They can also prove beneficial in having a little palate reset and moving back to what got you into your whisky journey in the first place.

Anyway I'm afraid I have little more information as to what is actually in the bottle, so apologies for the lack on information.

Nose: A heady burst of floral grain, sweet sherry and toasted oak. Freshly sliced red apples (braeburns), raisins, Brazil nuts, candy floss and a hint of banana too. Fabric conditioner, new leather and baking spice.

Palate: Quite rich on arrival - honeyed cereals, salted butter, toffee apples with clove and cinnamon, orange peel and walnuts plus some peppery spice around the back of the tongue. Toasted oak and a light leather note.

Finish: A little short with pepper, clove spice, honey and some drying oak.

Score: 6 out of 10

Overall: A really solid and enjoyable experience. Well balanced, well integrated and as such it’s very hard to argue with the price. It also shows the benefit of looking out for blends from previous decades when higher quality liquids were used. 

Here in the US Buchanan’s is wildly available and it would have been fun to do a side by side to see how the modern iteration fares. As it stands I’ll probably buy a bottle anyway and form some thoughts so watch this space.

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