Crown Royal Deluxe

A subtly sweet and fruity nose, with floral top notes, a bit of ethanol, green apple, unripe nectarine, and even some Concord grape. Base notes include soft vanilla taffy, caramel cream chews, and a sprinkling of oaky spice. Sweet and mild to the taste at first, with thin caramel, stone fruit with vanilla cream, and a drop of citrus. Then spice erupts, first in the form of cinnamon, and then zesty rye with a pinch of red pepper heat, but then it subsides rather quickly. Light to medium bodied, with an interesting texture that transforms from almost watery to downright velvety as it rests in the mouth. Legs are fairly quick but attractive, like beads of melting wax dripping down a candle. The finish is short in its intensity, mildly spicy, with sweet vanillin, a touch of banana, maple, a little lingering cinnamon warmth and just a hint of nutty oak. A very pleasant dram, albeit a bit watered down. Although, I imagine if the proof were much higher the ethanol might become harsh acetone. It’s a sweet treat best enjoyed neat. Nose: 8 Taste: 8 Body: 8 Finish: 8

Crown Royal needs no introduction. This was a staple for me and college, and I’m reviewing this now simply to check a box. My expectations aren’t particularly high here—but hey, you never know. Nose: Loads of vanilla. Some toffee, caramel and butterscotch. Light rye spice, white pepper, clove, and nutmeg. Palate: Apple juice. Vanilla, caramel, butterscotch, and toffee. Citrus and tobacco smoke. Overly-sweet dried apricot. Cocoa. Some malty, grainy, slightly tinny notes. Rye spice, black pepper, clove, and nutmeg. Finish: Candy corn, overly-ripe dried apricot, and apple juice. Vanilla, caramel, toffee, butterscotch. Black pepper, rye spice, clove, nutmeg. Very brief. Well, can’t win em all. I wasn’t expecting much out of this one, and that’s a good thing, because it didn’t deliver. I’m sure this is fine as a mixer. Unfortunately, I do all of these reviews neat. I consider this to be “class” in my college days. The presentation is all there. The whisky, however, is not. 1.5/5. Box checked.

Dark brown/caramel color, and very thick legs. The aroma is earthy cloves: a curious and somewhat welcome development. Sugary corn syrup, no surprise. Very mild oak. A hint of spicy cinnamon. It's definitely sweeter than most, but has enough balance in the nose to keep it from becoming a sugar bomb. The palate has a mix of sugary syrup and that cinnamon and clove, which gives it that needed balance. Candied orange. Salt and white pepper in the middle of the palate. It's sweet and you can see why it's perfect to mix with cola. The finish is light and ephemeral. Has more salt and spice than I had expected. Has a nutty almond liqueur component. Spicy ribbon candy and a cherry cough drop. Crown Royal was made to pair with cola or ginger ale. It's sweet but has a surprisingly spicy balance that keeps it from becoming too cloying. A very solid staple to have on the shelf.

3.75. My go to rating for a whiskey I liked but can’t praise too much. What’s hard to believe is I think, after 5 years of going balls deep in scotch and kind of scorning a lot of other things, I’m finally trying Canadian whisky for the first time. What?? Sometimes I surprise myself with what a needless snob I’ve been. Here’s the thing. Crown Royal isn’t anyone’s definition of challenging or complex. I’ve tried to avoid the cliche (because I’m a fucking snob) word “smooth”. But goddamn if this isn’t velvety smooth. The nose is tart green apples and salted caramel. On the tongue I get the same thing- caramel apple, with just a slight bitter woody note. It tastes a little watered down. Then on medium-short finish a twist of lemon and cane sugar join the … party? Book club, maybe. The whole thing is pleasant. I’ll do this again.

Visual: artificial amber; quick, thin legs. Nosing: pure caramel and a more subtle maple right off the bat. Vanilla and Coca Cola hits the back of the nose...fittingly? Huh. For a 40%, there are some pretty harsh alcohol fumes coming off this whisky. A generic "spiciness". Tasting: I guess you could call it "sweet". Thin body, extremely quick finish. Lots of warming alcohol. Bitter ethanol finish. Has that quintessential artificial Crown Royal diacetyl-caramel flavour. Reduced Nosing: with added water, that "Coca-Cola" scent really comes through. Some generic fruitiness comes through. Reduced Tasting: Less harsh on the back end. More caramel sweetness comes through. Nothing much else here. What can I say? It's Crown Royal. It's a mixer. Take advantage of those Coke notes and toss some coke into it!

I tasted this non-age statement blended Canadian whisky neat at 40%abv in the evening. It is chill-filtered with artificial colour. This is the whisky that started it all for me, back in the Crown and Cola era of my young adulthood. On its own it has a distinct synthetic caramel note. It reminds me of the Dollarstore caramel cubes, melted plastic and all. It has just enough alcohol bite to open the senses. The palate is pleasant with apple, caramel, vanilla ice cream, some cereal and grains. The finish is nearly non-existent. For a whisky supposedly composed of a blend of 50 other whiskies, it is disappointingly simple. That may be the benefit of its use with a mixer, but alone it falls short of satisfying.