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Review #4: Crown Royal Fine De Luxe
For many folks around the world, Crown Royal is Canadian whisky and Canadian whisky is Crown Royal. There is some truth to this, beyond the base fact that it’s made here; the brand’s origin is rooted in something that sets us apart from our nearest neighbour: our constitutional monarchy. The first Crown Royal was created to commemorate the 1939 royal tour of Canada of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother). It was a blend of fifty whiskies, which is also true of today’s Fine De Luxe expression, the subject of today’s review.
Fifty whiskies. Past experience has shown me the challenge of incorporating so many components, as the resultant blend always seems to end up rather muddled. The website implies that the core of this whisky is a Coffey distilled rye. Let’s try to pick out those spicy notes, from grain and from barrel, to see if this has the character befitting of what we here generically term “rye.”
Crown Royal Fine De Luxe Gimli Manitoba Blended Age: NAS ABV: 40%
Price paid (MLCC): $32.92 Reviewed: 2023-07-12
Colour: Dark amber.
Nose: Lavender and mingled fruitiness; red and honeycrisp apple, a bit of apricot and cherry. Toffee, hints of bubblegum and baking spice.
Palate: Creamy toffee and rye spice; oak. Red apple and nectarine. Pear and a bit of maple.
Finish: Honeycrisp. Oak and rye spices, quickly fading. Toffee remains longer. Pear closes out.
The mingled fruitiness above is quite well integrated, and it should be noted that the exact notes I get for that characteristic are variable between sittings. This is an intriguing pour in that regard. There’s good variety here too; about the only things holding it back are the relative lack of strength of flavour and somewhat insubstantial mouthfeel.
Score: 3 out of 5
Fine De Luxe could serve as a decent benchmark to measure other Canadian whiskies against. It has something for everyone, in quantities that do not dominate but rather harmonize.
Scoring Guide 1 out of 5: Terrible; no redeeming qualities, just say no. 2 out of 5: Poor; possesses qualities that detract, fodder for mixers. 3 out of 5: Mediocre; middle-of-the-road whisky, sippable but perhaps better in a cocktail. 4 out of 5: Good; a solid pour, enjoyable neat and outstanding in a cocktail. 5 out of 5: Superb; continues to surprise and delight, something to cherish.