Buchanan’s Master
Mexico’s long-standing obsession with Buchanan’s Blended Scotch Whisky is as fascinating as it is inexplicable. Let’s be clear, Mexicans are certifiably crazy about the stuff. Aside from the everyman who drinks Buchanan’s because, well, because everybody in Mexico drinks Buchanan’s. Popular corridos bands invite participants onto the stage during shows and pour straight Buchanan’s (or as they pronounce it, Bukanans) down the guests’ throats. To help you picture this, imagine if you were at a Kings of Leon concert with 80,000 of your closest friends and Caleb Followill started inviting people on stage and pouring straight whisky down their gullets while sing ing Supersoaker.
We did our own informal survey of Buchanan’s loving Mexican males living in the U.S., which is basically every male between the ag es of 21 and death. W e just wanted to get to the bottom of this mystery. In the process of surveying, we were gifted several bottles of Buchanan’s 12, gifted a set of Buchanan’s branded rocks glasses, gifted other bottles of Scotch that no self-respecting Mexican will ever consume, and given no concrete reason for their devotion. The question we posed was a simple one: “Why do Mexicans love Buchanan’s?” Here were some of the answers:
“it’s jus t a damn good Scotch bro”
“I wouldn’t trade Buchanan’s 18 for any single malt Scotch on the planet”
“I can drink as much as I want and I won’t have a hangover tomorrow”
“it leaves me with no alcohol breath”
In the end we gave up trying to figure it out. Instead we bought a couple of bottles of Buchanan’s Master, took‘em back to the office, and took them down corrido-style!
The Pairing
My Father Connecticut
A good Scotch is one of those spirits that easily pairs with almost any cigar so the issue for this pairing was finding a cigar that enhanced the whiskey. San Lotano
– The Bull was just that. The beautiful thing about this pairing is that the cigar has a rich oakiness that gets along famously with the Scotch’s barrel-aged flavor. But in addition it has loads of pepper, earth, nuts, and aged tobacco sweetness that take this pairing to the next level.
Unlike other pairings where we suggest you drink one before the other or wait for something to warm up, you can pretty much go to town with this one.
Buchanan’s Master – Blended Scotch Whiskey
Distilled by Buchanan Distillery
(750 ml. ABV 40%)
Aged 15 Years
MSRP: approx. $40
paired with
San Lotano – The Bull
by A.J. Fernandez
Toro (6″ x 54)
Strength: MEDIUM-FULL
Wrapper: Ecuador Sumatra
Origin: Nicaragua
