Crown Royal Texas style

[dcbt]

Would you say it tastes most like Crown, a rye whiskey, or a bourbon whiskey?

[wadewood]

Would you say it tastes most like Crown, a rye whiskey, or a bourbon whiskey?

I'd say it tastes more like a high rye bourbon whiskey.

[LCWoody]

I've had a few bottles of this and I like it a lot. I'm not a Crown fan but this is different, in a good way. It's definitly got the Crown taste but the higher proof has a lot more flavor. It's a good sipper neat. It's the best thing Crown has put out since Cask 16 IMHO. If you come across one I would try it.

[Gillman]

Does it resemble a bourbon or straight rye (to last poster)?

Gary

[LCWoody]

Please don't think I'm comparing it to VWFRR, but it rides that same line. It has bourbon qualities to it (like full body, thickness) but it's defiantly got the Crown flavor profile, but not as sweet. The bottles I bought came from Spec's but I have seen them at other stores, so I don't know if their is a lot difference between barrels. The bought one for my brother-n-law, he loves Crown. We tried it and I was shocked that I liked it, so the next time I went to Spec's I pick up some for myself. It's worth a try.

[LCWoody]

I just saw this in a Whiskey Advocate article. The high corn makes sense.... No wonder I thought it followed the bourbon line.

"DavindeK says:

January 6, 2015 at 2:07 pm

These barrels were selected from a number of bonds that were distilled 7 years ago.

Which 14 states? I am not sure yet but will post here when I know. It’s just that people have been hard to reach over Christmas and now everyone is catching up.

By the way, unlike most Canadian whisky, Coffey Rye is made using a mash bill: 64% corn, 31.5% rye, and 4.5% barley malt."

[squire]

Rye by Canadian standards, or nomenclature, or whatever they want to call it, still one I'd like to sample.

[Gillman]

Rye by Canadian standards, or nomenclature, or whatever they want to call it, still one I'd like to sample.

It's a flavouring whisky, it can be mostly or all rye, mostly or all corn, mostly or all malt or the latter and un-malted barley (Irish style). Jackson in '87 reported that some distillers used their own malt whiskies for flavouring. Any of it including the blends resulting from it can be called rye if it meets the requirements otherwise, e.g., distilled and aged in Canada, for three years, small wood aging, etc. Rye has become a term of art in this sense.

[GaryT]

Opened my first bottle of this, and my initial impression is "Wow - pretty tasty and interesting!" If someone gave me a blind sample, I would have guessed a rye bourbon as there is some pepper spice that I associate with that, although at the same time it has a creamy smoothness that makes in unique. There is some subtle oak, and it lacks the corn sweetness you'd associate with a young whiskey - so not knowing the approximate age (7 yrs from what I've read?) I would be confused. It is very drinkable, and while 103 proof isn't high proof in my book - it drinks much lower.

Just my first impressions, but looking forward to spending more time with this one. The nose is a bit underwhelming, but that is likely me (my head's been a bit stuffy lately).

[VT Mike]

It all sounds good, I don't get the jazz about "Coffey" since it is apparently a column still, not the older pot-still type, but distillation at a low proof sounds like they are giving us the flavouring element of the CR blend, or one of them (I think there are two).

Gary

The column still was originally designed in 1926 by Robert Stein. The design was enhanced by Aeneas Coffey, a French-born Irish distiller and inventor. He patented the improved design in 1930. Column still, continuous still, patent still, Coffey still; all different names for the same thing.

[wadewood]

The article linked indicated this would be a single barrel for each retailer. I've seen this at several different stores and it's all the same batch number with no differences in bottles. I've also seen displays at a couple of stores with signs that "exclusively available at XYZ store"; gotta love salespeople.

[GaryT]

The article linked indicated this would be a single barrel for each retailer. I've seen this at several different stores and it's all the same batch number with no differences in bottles. I've also seen displays at a couple of stores with signs that "exclusively available at XYZ store"; gotta love salespeople.

My bottle doesn't seem to have a batch # even (there is a small sticker on the box that mentions "Distribution limited to Texas", but that's it). Mine came from Spec's (and was advertised as being selected for them exclusively as well). Are the batch numbers a sticker that the retailer adds on when they receive it? Maybe I should e-mail them and ask for the stickers

[tanstaafl2]

The column still was originally designed in 1926 by Robert Stein. The design was enhanced by Aeneas Coffey, a French-born Irish distiller and inventor. He patented the improved design in 1930. Column still, continuous still, patent still, Coffey still; all different names for the same thing.

I believe your just a tad off. Like about a century! Coffey patented his still in 1830 and died in 1852.

[squire]

The French were manufacturing and using column stills well before Coffey, but his ideas meshed nicely with emerging modern industrial production methods.

[VT Mike]

I believe your just a tad off. Like about a century! Coffey patented his still in 1830 and died in 1852.

Haha, whoops! I looked the dates up, then typed them in wrong. Thanks for the correction.

[VT Mike]

I found some pretty good historical info regarding the development of column stills here

http://whiskyscience.blogspot.com/2013/08/history-of-column-still.html

[Gillman]

I found some pretty good historical info regarding the development of column stills here

http://whiskyscience.blogspot.com/2013/08/history-of-column-still.html

I only scanned it, but unless I missed it, it doesn't mention that column stills can be used to distill spirits in a way similar to a pot still. Generally, distilling out proof is the bright line here, at circa-160 proof. Bourbon is distilled in a column still including a Coffey still but because it is distilled at around 140 proof in practice, the white dog presents similarities much closer to what a pot still would produce than the grain whisky which also can be made in a column still. The CR Coffey rye is apparently distilled at a low proof like a U.S. rye. It is the distilling-out proof, which leaves significant secondary constituents in the spirit, that makes the difference, not "Coffey" or Saville or any other variant of a pot still. The armagnac still shown, a simple 3-chamber affair, is a column still but armagnac is otherwise similar in richness and authenticity to Cognac, distilled in two runs in a pot still. It was a good marketing stroke for CR to mention the Coffey rye but really we are talking about genuine, traditional rye spirit here (vs. the much lighter, blander grain whisky which forms the base of CR).

Gary

Edited January 19, 2015 by Gillman

[smokinjoe]

Thanks to a generous SBer, I took delivery of a bottle of this today. Very nice whiskey. The new barrels in aging really shine, and gives the nose that wonderful rickhouse bouquet. Most definitely bourbonesque in it's flavor and texture. A bit of black tea with herbal qualities (which I found very interesting, BTW) and pepperiness over the palate could have me mistake it for a straight rye, though. My biggest takeaway, and most welcome attribute of this whiskey, is that it lacked that cloyingly sweet caramelly note like I get in most Canadians.

In the end, one of the finest Canadian Whiskies I have had. I think that Diageo potentially may have opened a new genre in Canadian Whiskey with this release. I hope they will look to expand upon it further going forward.

[squire]

In the end, one of the finest Canadian Whiskies I have had. I think that Diageo potentially may have opened a new genre in Canadian Whiskey with this release. I hope they will look to expand upon it further going forward.

So do I Joe, so do I.

[sailor22]

I have been enjoying the bottle that a friend sent me. Poured it for all the gentlemen on the porch last night and it was uniformly popular. This much flavor is really unexpected from CR. The gentleman who owns a liquor store here tasted it and called his CR rep to see about getting some and was told Texas was a test market and that if it was deemed a success it would be in Florida some time in July 2016. So CR isn't rushing this to market.

It's a good pour and it would be fun to do a bling tasting with CR, WT 101, Baby Saz, Dickle, KC, and Ritt. Ryes to see how they stack up for your individual palate and value metric.

[Gillman]

Where can this whisky be obtained in Dallas?

Gary

[tanstaafl2]

Where can this whisky be obtained in Dallas?

Gary

One of the several Spec's stores in Dallas might be your best bet. A large chain liquor store in Texas.

[Gillman]

One of the several Spec's stores in Dallas might be your best bet. A large chain liquor store in Texas.

Okay thanks Bruce.

[kjbeggs]

I mentioned (in another thread) seeing this at Total Wine a couple weeks ago. I stopped in today to grab a bottle of Vermouth and noticed what had been a stack of several cases, was now down to a dozen or so bottles on the shelf.

I went ahead and grabbed one. I'll try it out tonight, and if I like it, I'll stop by a Specs later in the week and see if they have a different batch.

[kjbeggs]

Tried this straight tonight, and was really impressed. Oddly, I also tried making a Manhattan with it and was a bit disappointed.

It's got some nice Vanilla notes, and really easy to drink. I'll be adding a couple more at least