I picked it up for $60 during the Canada Day online sale. Monarch), so I was keen to give this Cab Sauv finished Crown Royal.īottled at 40.5% ABV (oddly), it currently retails for $70 CAD at the LCBO. I have had some higher-end Crown Royals that I’ve quite enjoyed (e.g. Wiser’s Double Still or even Hiram Walker’s Special Old). I have not posted a review yet of the base Crown Royal expression (aka “DeLuxe”) – but I find there are better Canadian rye whiskies among the bottom-shelf options (e.g. And while I am personally a fan of Green Spot Chateau Leoville Barton, I’m not so keen on the Arran Malt Amarone Finish. Unlike fortified wines, I find you can get some sourness along with fresh fruit notes in these whiskies. This expression is finished for six months in freshly emptied, medium-toast Cabernet Sauvignon casks from the Paso Robles region of California.įresh wine cask finishes can impart some interesting notes – although not always universally pleasant ones. This whisky is the second member in Crown Royal’s “Noble Collection” – a new line of higher-end products from the Gimli, Manitoba distillery. I would come in at the lower end here personally. It gets the highest review from Davin of Whisky Advocate, followed by Jason of In Search of Elegance and Beppi of the Globe & Mail. Nothing really compelling here over the rest of the line, but a solid expression for Crown Royal. I would have to rate this one as comparable in quality to Northern Harvest Rye, on par with Crown Royal Reserve and the one Hand Selected Barrel I’ve had (which seems to have been somewhat sub-par for the class, based on the other reviews I’ve seen). My own real complaint here is that it lacks mouthfeel, and seems kind of watery for the ABV. It’s also not as bitter on the way out as most Crown Royals. I don’t find it has as much aspartame (artificial sweetener) as most Crown Royals, this one again seems more like crushed candy sugar. Some sting on the swallow – plus some bitterness (common to Crown Royal).įinish: Medium. Reminds me a bit of Canadian Club 100% Rye – but with even more fruitiness. Palate: Sweet and fruity again, dark fruits especially. Very nice nose in the end, if you like your rye sweet. Some acetone, but not bad – better than the one Hand Selected Barrel I tried. Something hard to describe, but reminiscent of powdered candy canes. Nose: Sweet and fruity nose, very creamy too. While there are not too many reviews, that’s certainly a good score for a Crown Royal. Let’s see how it compares to other Crown Royals in Meta-Critic Whisky Database:Ĭrown Royal: 7.57 ± 0.49 on 19 reviews ($)Ĭrown Royal Black: 8.20 ± 0.50 on 16 reviews ($$)Ĭrown Royal Blender’s Select: 8.61 ± 0.14 on 4 reviews ($$)Ĭrown Royal Bourbon Mash (Blender’s Mash): 8.32 ± 0.50 on 4 reviews ($$)Ĭrown Royal Hand Selected Barrel: 8.77 ± 0.29 on 11 reviews ($$$)Ĭrown Royal Limited Edition: 8.29 ± 0.19 on 11 reviews ($$)Ĭrown Royal Monarch 75th Anniversary: 8.62 ± 0.47 on 12 reviews ($$$)Ĭrown Royal Noble Collection Cornerstone Blend: 8.37 ± 0.69 on 5 reviews ($$$)Ĭrown Royal Noble Collection Wine Barrel Finished: 8.70 ± 0.53 on 6 reviews ($$$)Ĭrown Royal Northern Harvest Rye: 8.56 ± 0.34 on 18 reviews ($$)Ĭrown Royal Reserve: 8.46 ± 0.65 on 15 reviews ($$$)Ĭrown Royal XO: 8.56 ± 0.54 on 8 reviews ($$$) It sells for $55 CAD exclusively at the LCBO (although I’ve seen it on sale a couple of times now). To create this blended whisky, Crown Royal has added some 9 year old whisky to the standard 7 year old used in Hand Selected Barrel, to help compensate for the lower proof in this batched version (45% ABV). I’m surprised they had enough available to produce this 5000-case release, as this high-demand whisky is only made once a year, over a 5 week period, at their plant in Gimli, Manitoba. This is a cask-strength, single barrel version of one of the core “flavouring” whiskies used in most Crown Royal blends – a high-rye mashbill, coffey still-distilled, virgin oak-aged whisky.īut now, Ontarians can get a taste of what this bourbon-style whisky is like – through Blender’s Select, a batched version sold exclusively at the LCBO. One of the pet peeves of Crown Royal whisky fans in Canada is that one of their best bottlings – Hand Selected Barrel – is only available in the U.S.
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