Bandits Review:
Artofdrink.com Review
"Crown Royal is a ten year old whisky, but may have whiskies that are much older in it. In the early days up to 40 different whiskies were used to make Crown Royal, this allowed for the creation of a unique spirit where no single component was identifiable. The distillery in Gimli, Manitoba has over 1,000,000 barrels of whisky to pick from to create the Crown Royal blend. Originally the oldest whisky component was 35 years old, but after a few years it was reduced to a 30 year old."
Drinkhacker.com Review:
Crown Royal is no Johnny Come Lately in the whisky world — though I’ve had a vague grudge against the brand since my family was mistakenly and bizarrely charged for 11 glasses of said whisky at Tony’s in Houston, Texas. But who doesn’t love that little purple bag?
Crown Royal Reserve is, obviously, the reserve version of the classic Canadian blend. Re-released this month with a new design (and a fancy little gold bag). Formerly known as “Special Reserve,” the blend also gets a slightly new, less “Special” name. The recipe, however, is the same, a selection of less than 1 percent of the stock available to the company, notably including some spicy rye whisky.
Crown Royal Reserve is a very pleasant whisky, surprisingly easy to drink even without water. The heat is minimal, allowing you to focus on the spicy notes here: cinnamon and incense, and a surprisingly light touch of vanilla from the oak barrels. Finish is short but nicely sweet. Nothing too complex, but really quite compelling… and I keep going back to it.
Drinkhacker.com Review
"Crown Royal Cask No. 16 – This is a very unusual whisky, a blend of 50 different whiskys that are then brought together to age in old cognac casks made from French oak. (The “16″ comes from a stamp put on the casks to indicate their place of origin and authenticity.) Served neat, you get fruit notes and a good slug of vanilla. Very smooth, it’s a fine whisky. Crown Royal recommends it served on the rocks, but I preferred it at room temperature. The cold brought out some bitterness which I found disagreeable."
