The Rum Howler Blog

(A Website for Spirited Reviews)

  • Copyright

    Copyright is inherent when an original work is created. This means that the producer of original work is automatically granted copyright protection. This copyright protection not only exists in North America, but extends to other countries as well. Thus, all of the work produced on this blog is protected by copyright, including all of the pictures and all of the articles. These original works may not be copied or reused in any way whatsoever without the permission of the author, Chip Dykstra.

  • Cocktails and Recipes

    Click Image for Awesome Recipes

  • Industry Interviews

    Interviews

    Click the Image for Great Interviews with the Movers of Industry

  • The Rum Howler Interview (Good Food Revolution)

    Click on the Image to see my interview on Good Food Revolution

  • The Rum Howler Blog

    Unknown's avatar

  • Rum Reviews

  • Whisky Reviews

  • Gin Reviews

  • Tequila Reviews

  • Vodka Reviews

  • Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

    Join 1,090 other subscribers

  • Subscribe

  • Visitors

    • 15,492,616 pageviews since inception

  • Archives

  • Follow The Rum Howler Blog on WordPress.com

Posts Tagged ‘Crown Royal’

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »

Review: Crown Royal Regal Apple Flavored Whisky

Posted by Arctic Wolf on February 27, 2015

BottleCrown Royal’s new Regal Apple Flavored Whisky beverage is (according to their website) a blend of hand-selected smooth Crown Royal whiskies infused with natural apple flavors. The apples flavour apparently is derived from natural Regal Gala apples which are a red and green varietal with a mildly sweet flavour profile. According to Wikipedia (which is usually more accurate than it is given credit for) the Gala apple was ranked as the number 2 most favoured variety on the US Apple Association’s list of most popular apples in 2006.

Apple tonic

Regal Apple Tonic

The new apple flavoured spirit from Crown Royal is bottled at 35 % alcohol by volume. The Crown Royal Regal Apple was launched on November 6, 2014, and will slowly be making its way across Canada and of course throughout the USA during 2015.

You may read my full review of this new flavoured spirit here:

Review: Crown Royal Regal Apple Flavored Whisky

“… The air above the glass as I expected carried a distinctive tart green apple scent but this was tainted with menthol and sugar which to me gave the initial aroma a striking resemblance to candied apple cough drops. As I let the glass sit, I noticed some of the whisky scents breaking through the tart apple …”

Please enjoy my review which includes a nice tall recipe of mine, Regal Apple Tonic, which I found quite nice with the Crown Royal Regal Apple Whisky.

Cheers!

Posted in Canadian Whisky, Flavoured Whisky, Whisk(e)y | Tagged: , , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Crown Royal Regal Apple Flavored Whisky

Review: Crown Royal Limited Canadian Whisky

Posted by Arctic Wolf on February 8, 2015

Crown Royal Limited SAM_1436Crown Royal Canadian Whisky is currently produced in Gimli, Manitoba, at the Crown Royal Distillery. The distillery and the brand are owned by the spirits conglomerate, Diageo, and I think it is fair to say that Crown Royal is Diageo’s flagship Canadian Whisky brand. Several years ago Crown Royal Limited was introduced as an addition to the Crown Royal family of whiskies. This Crown Royal is apparently blended from a selected group of batch distilled whiskies and bottled at 40 % alcohol by volume to provide a more premium alternative to the flagship brand Crown Royal Deluxe.

Here is a link to my full review:

Review: Crown Royal Limited Canadian Whisky

“… As the glass sat the rye spices seemed to build up filling the air with scents of ginger and coriander as well as some dusty dry scents of fresh grain and chaff. A bit of sweet punky corn began to assert itself making it known that this was indeed a Crown Royal brand, although I should add that these punky corn scents were quite muted as compared to the original CR Whisky …”

My review concludes with a new cocktail loosely based upon the 1878 Brandy Crusta as formulated by Leo Engels. My recipe is a more modern version and is of course designed for Canadian Whisky rather than Brandy. I call my recipe, the Resplendent Iced Cocktail.

Posted in Canadian Whisky, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: , , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Crown Royal Limited Canadian Whisky

Rum Howler #20 Canadian Whisky – Crown Royal Reserve

Posted by Arctic Wolf on December 5, 2014

rum_howler_badge-2014Crown Royal Canadian Whisky is currently produced in Gimli, Manitoba, at the Crown Royal Distillery. The distillery and the brand are owned by Diageo, and I think it is fair to say that Crown Royal is Diageo’s flagship Canadian whisky brand. In 1992, a premium version of Crown Royal was introduced as Crown Royal Special Reserve. This whisky was produced from specially selected casks which were tasted and monitored closely by the Crown Royal Master Blender. These ‘premium casks’ represented whiskies with special character, and they were allowed to age longer with the aim of producing a more premium whisky. In the fall of 2008, this more premium Crown Royal Special Reserve was relaunched as Crown Royal Reserve Canadian Whisky.

CRReserveI have to admit that I seem to have mixed reactions whenever I taste this particular whisky. When I originally scored it in 2010, I was underwhelmed; but, when I re-scored the spirit in January of 2013, my impression of the whisky had improved considerably.

As well, I have noticed that in blind tastings (when serving as juror for the Canadian Whisky Awards) I seem to have different reaction each time I sample a different bottle.

This time when doing my tastings for the Rum Howler Top 25 Whiskies of 2014, it seems to have improved just a little from its 2013 score, and the result is that the Crown Royal Reserve is the number 20 Canadian Whisky in this years countdown!

You may read my 2014 review here:

#20 Canadian Whisky – Crown Royal Reserve

“… Things begin with rich notes of oak and cedar mingling with rye grain and butterscotch. The punky corn accent so familiar in all Crown Royal whiskies is very apparent; but it is much more subdued in this expression … “

My Canadian Whisky Countdown has reached the top 20 with the Crown Royal Reserve. In my opinion, this is a whisky appears to vary from batch to batch. Fortunately though, those variations seem to be diminishing over time, and the Crown Royal Reserve seems to be finding out who she wants to be.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Note: You may follow my Countdown list of the 25 Best Canadian Whiskies here:   The Rum Howler – Top 25 Canadian Whiskies of 2014

Posted in Awards, Canadian Whisky, Extras, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: , , , , , , | Comments Off on Rum Howler #20 Canadian Whisky – Crown Royal Reserve

#6 Canadian Whisky – Crown Royal Cask No. 16

Posted by Arctic Wolf on December 20, 2013

rum_howler_badge- 25WHISKYCrown Royal® Canadian Whisky was originally introduced in 1939 (by Samuel Bronfman of Seagrams) as a special whisky bottling to commemorate the Royal tour of Canada by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in that year. Until 1964, the whisky was only available in Canada; however, today it is available world-wide and is in fact the number one Canadian whisky brand sold in the USA. Crown Royal is currently produced in Gimli Manitoba, at the Crown Royal Distillery which (since the dissolution of the Seagrams portfolio in 2000) is owned by the spirits conglomerate Diageo.

cask-16-bottleCask No. 16 was introduced in 2007; but was apparently discontinued in 2012. However, the whisky is still readily available (at least in the Alberta market), and when I checked the Crown Royal Website, I found it was still listed as part of the Crown Royal family.

According to the information found on their website, The Cask No. 16 is,

“Handcrafted from more than 50 different aged Canadian whiskies and then finished in Cognac Oak casks from the Limousin forest in France for another layer of richness and complexity.”

This spirit represents the second entry from Crown Royal in my Top 25 Canadian Whisky Countdown and it arrives at Number 6. Here is a link to my February 2010 review:

#6 Canadian Whisky – Crown Royal Cask No. 16

“…   A mellow corn whisky is up front on the palate, but rich soft butterscotch and caramel and sweet brown sugar sit under the corn flavour supporting and enhancing the experience.  A nice spicy bite which has the hallmarks of pears and grapes grabs at the taste buds.   Carrying all of this flavour forward is a wonderful mild oak presence that never dominates.  The oak acts as it should, as a garnish which heightens the other flavours with its presence …”

For those who prefer a more subdued corn profile and a milder rye like burn, this is probably the perfect Canadian whisky.  It is wonderfully luxurious and rich, yet full of character and complexity. Sip it neat, or on the rocks and you will not be disappointed.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Note: You may follow my Countdown list of the 25 Best Canadian Whiskies here:   The Rum Howler 2013 – Top 25 Canadian Whiskies

Posted in Awards, Canadian Whisky, Extras, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: , , , , , , | Comments Off on #6 Canadian Whisky – Crown Royal Cask No. 16

#14 Canadian Whisky – Crown Royal Reserve

Posted by Arctic Wolf on December 12, 2013

rum_howler_badge- 25WHISKYCrown Royal Canadian Whisky is currently produced in Gimli, Manitoba, at the Crown Royal Distillery. The distillery and the brand are owned by Diageo, and I think it is fair to say that Crown Royal is Diageo’s flagship Canadian whisky brand. In 1992, a premium version of Crown Royal was introduced as Crown Royal Special Reserve. In the fall of 2008, the name of the brand was tweaked and relaunched as Crown Royal Reserve Canadian Whisky.

reserve-bottleAccording to the information I received from the brand owner (and gleaned from the Crown Royal website), this particular Crown Royal whisky is produced from selected casks which were tasted and monitored closely by their Master Blender. These ‘premium casks’ represented whiskies with special character, and they were allowed to age longer with the aim of producing a more premium whisky.

I guess that my tasting panel agrees that something more special has resulted from all this care and attention as the Crown Royal Reserve lands in my Top 25 Canadian Whisky Countdown in the Number 14 position.

Here is a link to my latest review:

#14 Canadian Whisky – Crown Royal Reserve

“… I am impressed by the complex structure of the whisky which is all at once tart and spicy, sweet and creamy, and rich with flavour. The whisky is lightly oaky with wood spices leading out as orange peel and pepper. Some clear rye spices (ginger in particular) jump in and this spicy montage of flavour is accented by sweet flavours of caramel and maple …”

The Crown Royal Reserve is very appealing and complex. It does though, require a bit of time in the glass to reach its full potential.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Note: You may follow my Countdown list of the 25 Best Canadian Whiskies here:   The Rum Howler 2013 – Top 25 Canadian Whiskies

Posted in Awards, Canadian Whisky, Extras, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: , , , , , | Comments Off on #14 Canadian Whisky – Crown Royal Reserve

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »