Crown Royal Hand Selected Barrel Review
Hand Selected Barrel_1

Photo courtesy of Diageo.

Crown Royal has gone into the single barrel business.  Initially introduced in Texas, Crown Royal Hand Selected Barrel is now widely available, so long as a store near you buys a barrel.  Obviously being a single barrel, this is not a blend.  This is Coffey Rye whisky, one of the principal components of Crown Royal.  It’s rye whisky distilled in a coffey still (a type of column still) at Diageo’s Gimli distillery.  Crown Royal Hand Selected Barrel is bottled at a healthy 51.5%abv, or 103 proof.

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Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye Review

Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye

Crown Royal’s newest expression is all about rye.  Comprised of 90% rye whisky, Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye is the company’s first ever blended rye whisky.  Normal Canadian whiskies may contain a little rye whisky blended with other grain whiskies and neutral grain spirits.   The rye grain used was grown and harvested in Canada, and the whisky was produced at the brand’s distillery at Gimli, Manitoba.

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Crown Royal Canadian Whisky Review

Crown Royal

Ah… Crown Royal.  A lot of folks I know rank this Canadian whisky amongst their favorite spirits. I’ve never had the pleasure of tasting it until recently.  Before we get to the tasting notes, here is a little history.  Crown Royal was created in 1939 to celebrate the royal visit by the reigning King George VI and his wife Queen Elizabeth to Canada.  Until 1964, the only place you could find this whisky was Canada.

What’s Canadian whisky?  In a nutshell, Canadian whiskies are blended whiskies comprised of corn, rye or barley.  To be called Canadian whisky, the spirit must be mashed, distilled and aged at least three years in Canada.  Unlike American Bourbon whiskey, Canadian whisky can have caramel coloring and flavoring added – so long that it tastes like Canadian whisky should taste.  Of note, from what I gather,  there can be a large percentage of neutral grain spirit blended in.  I suppose that’s why coloring and flavoring can be added.  So, how does this grand Canadian whisky taste?

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