Buchanan's is a brand of Scotch whisky produced by Diageo in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

History

James Buchanan, born in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

but son of Scottish immigrants, returned to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

shortly after he was born and he was brought up in

Larne Larne (, , the name of a Gaelic territory) is a town on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland, with a population of 18,755 at the 2011 Census. It is a major passenger and freight roll-on roll-off port. Larne is administered by Mid ...

. He joined a

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

shipping firm as an office boy when he was fourteen or fifteen, and was later promoted to be a

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...

. In 1868 he joined his brother in the grain business until 1879, when he moved to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

as an agent for a company in the

whisky Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains (which may be malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden ca ...

trade. He realized that there was an untapped market in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

for bottled Scotch whisky and set about producing his own, the ''Buchanan Blend''. He went into business on his own in 1884 as ''James Buchanan & Co''. In 1898, James Buchanan was given the Royal Warrant to supply the Royal Household with Buchanan's Whisky to

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

and the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

.Sting.com - Buchanan's Forever to 'Present' an unprecedented musical experience with Sting in May 2010 - Proceeds to Benefit the Diageo 'Learning for Life' program that provides education and life skills to thousands of individuals throughout Latin America...
The company joined

Distillers Company The Distillers Company Limited was a leading Scottish drinks and pharmaceutical company and, at one time, a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It was taken over by Guinness & Co. (now part of Diageo) in 1986 in a transaction which was later ...

in 1925. Distillers was acquired by Guinness in 1986, and Guinness merged with

Grand Metropolitan Grand Metropolitan plc was a leisure, manufacturing and property conglomerate headquartered in England. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index until it merged with Guinness plc to for ...

to form Diageo in 1997.

Blends

*Black & White (Originally "Buchanan's Blend", then "House of Commons") 8 *De Luxe 12 *Special Reserve 18 *Master *Red Seal

Reviews

Buchanan's offerings have generally performed very well at international

Spirit ratings With a growing number of offerings, such as those produced by an increasing number of microdistilleries, various mechanisms have arisen to provide reviews and opinions of individual varieties of spirits. These events generally use expert panels ...

organizations. The De Luxe 12-year, for example, earned a string of 3 gold medals and 2 double-golds from the

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

World Spirits Competition between 2005 and 2010. The 18-year was awarded three golds, a silver, and a double gold medal over that same time frame. In 2011, the Beverage Testing Institute gave the Red Seal a relatively strong score of 92 out of 100.

Buchanan's Forever

Buchanan's Forever is a musical experience that honours the legacy of Buchanan's founder by way of an ongoing community enrichment program which forms part of Diageo's regional social responsibility platform, ''Learning for Life''. Buchanan's Forever has been held in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, Colombia, and

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

, and in each country it supports a charitable project that helps communities in each of these countries. Buchanan's Forever artists have included: Elton John,

James Blunt James Blunt (born James Hillier Blount; 22 February 1974) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. A former reconnaissance officer in the Life Guards regiment of the British Army, he served under NATO during the 1999 Kosovo War. After l ...

, Jon Bon Jovi, Fonseca,

Fito Páez Rodolfo Páez Ávalos, popularly known as Fito Páez (; born 13 March 1963), is an Argentine popular rock and roll pianist, lyricist, singer-songwriter and film director. Biography Early career Paez was born in Rosario, Santa Fe Province; hi ...

, Aleks Syntek,

Gerry Weil Gerhard Weilheim, better known as Gerry Weil (born 11 August 1939 in Vienna), is an Austrian-born Venezuelan jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and e ...

Franco De Vita Franco Atilio De Vita De Vito (born January 23, 1954, in Caracas, Venezuela) is a Venezuelan Latin Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter. His first album as a solo artist garnered three Spanish-language hits in Venezuela. He signed with the ...

, Sting and Ely Guerra.

References

External links

Official site
{{Diageo plc Diageo brands Blended Scotch whisky Distilleries in Scotland Scottish brands 1879 introductions