Crown Royal Black

[loose proton]

I don't know what I just drank. My local store had a bowl of airplane bottles of something they said was new, Crown Royal Black. The label was that, "Crown Royal Black" and the flavor wasn't exactly like Cask 16 nor Reserve. Perhaps it was Reserve, but definitely not Cask 16.

My impressions? Unimpressed. Dark color, possibly from coloring. Little nose. Biting alcohol flavor with little else. Almost no aftertaste until the bottle was gone, then not bad aftertaste. The most enjoyable part of the experience was the slight aftertaste after the bottle was gone.

[Gillman]

Good eye, seems to be something new. This is an extract from an article by Lance Mayhew on a cocktails-oriented site:

"Crown Royal Black, rumored to be launching in early 2010. Details are sparse at this time but Crown Royal Black is expected to be 100 proof and packaged in an opaque black bottle for a completely different look from the rest of the Crown Royal line".

Here is the full link: http://cocktails.about.com/od/spirits/a/bestcanadian_whisky.htm

Gary

[Megawatt]

I don't know what I just drank. My local store had a bowl of airplane bottles of something they said was new, Crown Royal Black. The label was that, "Crown Royal Black" and the flavor wasn't exactly like Cask 16 nor Reserve. Perhaps it was Reserve, but definitely not Cask 16.

My impressions? Unimpressed. Dark color, possibly from coloring. Little nose. Biting alcohol flavor with little else. Almost no aftertaste until the bottle was gone, then not bad aftertaste. The most enjoyable part of the experience was the slight aftertaste after the bottle was gone.

Are you generally satisfied with whiskies from the Crown Royal range?

[loose proton]

Are you generally satisfied with whiskies from the Crown Royal range?

Cask 16 isn't bad, and would drink more if it were about one third it's cost. I do like XR a lot, but in it's price range I opt for other sips.

[Megawatt]

Cask 16 isn't bad, and would drink more if it were about one third it's cost. I do like XR a lot, but in it's price range I opt for other sips.

Ah. Over the years of drinking many Canadian whiskies I've settled on the conclusion that Crown Royal Deluxe (the standard blend) is the best Canadian in its category, but I've not tried Cask 16 or XR. As you stated there are probably many better choices at those prices. I'll be interested to see how this new expression stacks up against the regular stuff.

[loose proton]

If you get the chance, do try Cask 16 and XR.

Cask 16 has an interesting unique flavor and definitely worth trying. Like all their stuff, it is a blend. I think it would be better if it were more of the older whiskey and less of younger stuff. It does have the limousin oak flavor, but Glenlivet French Oak is a much better choice for less $$. I think Cask 16 uses used barrels for the finish whereas Glenlivet uses virgin wood for aging.

XR is super! Far smoother than other Crown products. It has a complex range of flavors like is found in the finest whiskeys. No mono-tone here, definitely multi-dimensional. I only have one open bottle. The next time I see it under $100, I'll pick up another bottle.

[Megawatt]

Thanks, I don't know too many people who have tried these whiskies so I'm glad to have your opinion.

[whskylvr]

Crown Royal Cask 16 uses used Cognac barrels thats what gives it its unique taste (alot of dried fruit, raisins, prunes, etc). CR XR was a non planned Canadian Whiskey the warehouses that it was housed in burnt and a small numbers of barrels survived. It has a very rich smokey nose and taste. Very smooth.

I can tell you that Cask 16 will continue to be produced. Crown XR is very limited right now. We have approx. 22 (6 pack) cases left in the distributor warehouse for the west coast. We had brought in 250 from the Texas area. Not sure how much is back east.

[cowdery]

Canadian whiskey is Canadian whiskey and if you don't like them generally, you probably won't suddenly like one because it's higher proof and in a black bottle. I've had some of the very best Canadian whiskey and they just don't travel very far from the run-of-the-mill Canadian. I'm not saying the premium expressions aren't better, they invariably are. There just is only so far a Canadian whiskey can go.

[Gillman]

I agree with that and the only thing in my view that will change the typical palate significantly is if the so-called flavoring whiskeys (straight batch whiskeys) are released either on their own, or in a blend in which they have a much larger say than at present. Michael Jackson called for this in his 1987 World Guide to Whisky, but the producers either are very reticent or quite possibly have not even thought of doing this since it has been over 50 years since any straight whiskey made in Canada was released in non-blended form. The last ones I am aware of were ironically from Seagram, and were called Pedigree, they came in both a "bourbon" and rye version. As far as I know, these products were taken off the market in the early 1950's.

Gary

[Megawatt]

I agree with that and the only thing in my view that will change the typical palate significantly is if the so-called flavoring whiskeys (straight batch whiskeys) are released either on their own, or in a blend in which they have a much larger say than at present. Michael Jackson called for this in his 1987 World Guide to Whisky, but the producers either are very reticent or quite possibly have not even thought of doing this since it has been over 50 years since any straight whiskey made in Canada was released in non-blended form. The last ones I am aware of were ironically from Seagram, and were called Pedigree, they came in both a "bourbon" and rye version. As far as I know, these products were taken off the market in the early 1950's.

Gary

[loose proton]

another review of Crown Royal Black

I have a good friend that drinks a lot of better whiskeys (he has THREE bunkers) and is a Jim Beam & Crown fan. He likes regular Crown, but he tried the new Black and thought it was terrible swill.

[loose proton]

Perhaps we should be encouraged that there is a new distiller in Concord that has pot stills and barley malt, and are currently using it to make single malt vodka, presumably to get a quick return on investment. I suspect we will see single malt whisky in a few years.

[Gillman]

I've heard of this venture and it is great news. It will take some time but there is every hope it will introduce some traditional straight-type whiskeys.

I should add that Forty Creek's whiskeys (of Grimsby, Ontario), while a blend (or so I understand) of continuous and batch whiskeys, do attain a flavoursome palate and one that is liked by many, including me. However, I would not regard its products as having the full-bore flavour of a straight or single whiskey.

By the way it is possible that straight whiskeys developed in-house for blending Canadian whisky might resemble some of the High West ryes since there was speculation some of the latter were sourced from Lawrenceburg, Indiana where Seagram's had a long-running plant. That is excellent straight rye, and if Seagram released anything like that I think it would do very well and be a departure for them.

Gary

[cowdery]

I've never had a chance to study the Canadian laws on the matter, but I think there is a limit to how much low-proof (i.e., under 95% ABV) spirit a given whiskey can contain.

[Gillman]

Based on reviewing the standards some years back, the rules seemed quite liberal, whisky must be made from a cereal mash, distilled and aged in Canada, aged 3 years in small wood. I think that was it. There might have been a top limit for distillation as in Scotland, but I don't recall it. I'll check again.

Gary

[Megawatt]

another review of Crown Royal Black

I have a good friend that drinks a lot of better whiskeys (he has THREE bunkers) and is a Jim Beam & Crown fan. He likes regular Crown, but he tried the new Black and thought it was terrible swill.

That is too bad. I wonder why they would release an inferior product, and what they plan on charging for it. Oh well, if this is the case then it is just one less thing to spend my money on.

[fishnbowljoe]

Here's a couple of links about the Crown Royal Black. One is from John Hansell.

http://www.whatdoesjohnknow.com/2010/03/24/new-crown-royal-black-canadian-whisky/

http://www.luxist.com/2010/03/29/crown-royal-launches-premium-black/

My son has a friend who manages a bar. He has received a couple of bottles of this already. My son has tried it, and while it isn't to his liking, he thought I'd like it. We bought a bottle of Cask 16 a while back and it was good, so...... I think I'm gonna see what I can do about getting a bottle. I cut my teeth on Canadian whiskies, and if this one has more of a "bourbon" flavor, as it advertises, it might prove interesting. Joe

[Dramiel McHinson]

We received ample supply of the Crown Royal Black and at my Base Shoppette it is the same price as the regular CR, $24.95. My wife likes CR so I picked up a bottle to try. It is in the same taste profile to me as regular CR but more sweet and not as dry or spicy. The wife likes it with ice and a dash of water. I like it as an aperitif. I call it my morning whisky.

[silverfish]

John Hansell wondered if this was "...the Canadian equivalent to Loch Dhu?"

Anyone else get that impression?

[Parkersback]

I looked for a thread on CR Cask 16 and couldn't find one. Just wanted to say that there are two stores here in Brooklyn that are selling it for around $30. One of them is BQE Liquors, which I've mentioned before (and I swear, I do not know those folks, do not work for them, etc. They just happen to have the best prices I've found in a very expensive town).

But I thought I'd mention it as I'm still seeing it here in NYC(and elsewhere) for $70 or more. I've never seen a whiskey have such divergent pricing

[matthew0715]

I looked for a thread on CR Cask 16 and couldn't find one. Just wanted to say that there are two stores here in Brooklyn that are selling it for around $30. One of them is BQE Liquors, which I've mentioned before (and I swear, I do not know those folks, do not work for them, etc. They just happen to have the best prices I've found in a very expensive town).

But I thought I'd mention it as I'm still seeing it here in NYC(and elsewhere) for $70 or more. I've never seen a whiskey have such divergent pricing

Are you sure that's $30 for a 750ml? The liquor store near me in NJ had CR Cask 16 on sale for only $19.99, but when I looked closer it was the 375ml. The fact that the bottle is so ornate and comes in a plush pouch inside a cardboard not-quite-cylinder made it look bigger than it is. It was still a great price for MA's Canadian Whisky of the Year, especially since it was originally released at $100 (per 750ml). They had a bunch a few months ago but lately that shelf space has been empty.

[Parkersback]

It's the 750. I bought one at the place I know on Manhattan Ave in Greenpoint for about $35, and I'm sure it's the 750 at BQE, too, they even have it listed in their catalogue for $29 before tax.

http://bqewineandliquors.com/Catalogs/BQE-Spirits.pdf

[ThomasH]

My wife's favorite is regular CR so we took some CR Black and cut it back to approx. 80 proof and compared the two. Not only is CR Black higher proof, it definitely isn't the same blend at a higher proof. While it isn't bad, the wife likes regular CR much better!

Thomas

[JohnHansell]

Yeah, I much prefer the other Crown Royal expression to CR Black. I reviewed it here.