Review: Crown Royal Cask No. 16

The most famous and best selling of all Canadian whiskies is, without a doubt, Crown Royal.  A brand that has been around for a long time.  It was created by Canadian entrepreneur Samuel Bronfman, who was in his day, kinda the equivalent of Donald Trump.  Astute businessman, shameless promoter, who could be generous, kind, philanthropic, nasty and ruthless.  A real piece of work.

One of the ways he left his mark in this world was through his obsession with developing a great whisky, and the result was Crown Royal.  Mr. Sam, as he was known, introduced Crown Royal to mark the state visit to Canada of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in 1939 (In my You Tube video review I incorrectly said the state visit by the King and Queen took place in the mid-1950's).  Clearly, Mr. Sam was a master of marketing, light years ahead of his time.

Sam Bronfman

Davin de Kergommeaux, in his authoritative tome, Canadian Whisky, wrote:

"Bronfman was wealthy and well connected by that time and managed to have the whisky placed aboard the trains carrying the royal couple across Canada.  It was billed as whisky fit for royalty, but there is no evidence that either of them ever tasted it.  Still, it was an instant success with Canadians."

Bronfman continued to play up the tenuous connection to royalty by selling Crown Royal in dark blue/purple faux velvet bags.  What a card!

Brand Variations
While Crown Royal was introduced in 1939, it would be a long time before extensions of the brand would appear in the marketplace.  But, when they did, the sales were impressive, which meant more brand variations.

Crown Royal Reserve appeared in 1992.  Basically it was Crown Royal with a few older whiskies and additional rye in the mash bill for added spice.  Nice.  In 2008, the Special Reserve was re-launched as Reserve.  Other than changing the label, it was the same whisky.  Pretty poor marketing strategy.  They should have taken a page out of Mr. Sam's playbook and linked the launch with a newsworthy event in 2008.  Maybe the election of President Obama?  Or maybe the worst film sequel of 2008: Saw 5

In 2006, Crown Royal XR (extra rare) appeared on the market.  A very expensive release that continues to be bottled to this day. Good hooch, but too rich for my pocket book.

2010 brought us, Crown Royal Black and well, I don't like it.  Tastes like rum.  I like rum, but not when I buy a bottle labeled Canadian whisky.  For those occasions, I want to taste Canadian whisky.  In any event, I reviewed it here.  I was not kind.

2012 saw the release of Crown Royal Maple.  I have not tried it.  It is Crown Royal finished in maple toasted oak.  I understand sales have been very strong, much like the success of Crown Royal Black.  But remember, just as age statements are not a guarantee of quality, neither is robust sales growth.

The Main Event
Crown Royal Cask No. 16 came to market in 2007.  This whisky is basically standard Crown Royal that has been finished for a period of time in oak Cognac casks.  The number "16" refers to the forest region or district of Limousin, France, from which the oak is harvested for the barrels.  I think that is the back story, but if I am wrong, please advise in the comments section.

ABV
40%

Body
Medium body.  Rounded, creamy mouth feel.

Nose (undiluted)
Some faint rye notes, chocolate, brandy, warm fruitcake.

Palate (undiluted)
Rye bread, warm plum pudding, stewed prunes, nutmeg, oatmeal drizzled with brown sugar.

Finish (undiluted)
Dark rum soaked fruit cake.  Subtle spiced oak.

General Impressions
A beautiful Canadian whisky!  Incredibly smooth, balanced, but not boring.  The Cognac cask aging process really imparts the darker fruitcake character of this whisky.  The taste has a slight winey note that works very well.

The smooth character makes this whisky very easy to drink.  Well done!

And now for the bad news . . .
Crown Royal Cask No. 16 has been discontinued.  Production ceased in 2013.  Accordingly, once it is gone, it's gone forever.  Presently, Cask No. 16 still appears on shelves in Canada and the US, and retailers in the US are cutting the price on this great whisky.  I have seen it advertised for $52 a bottle.  A great price.

In Canada, it normally retails between $80 and $100, which is quite expensive for Canadian whisky.  Nevertheless, I paid those prices and I am not disappointed nor feel cheated.  So, if you can get it for less, you are doing well.

Why was it discontinued?  Diageo and I are not on speaking terms.  I send them emails.  They ignore them.  So, I am left to my own devices, which means talking to others in the spirits industry for their theories.  One knowledgeable source speculates that the demise of Cask No. 16 was not due to poor sales, but rather the spectacular sales growth of Crown Royal Black and Maple.  Someone in the company decided to take the resources devoted to Cask No. 16, and devote it to the growth areas of the product line.  Another theory is that the sourcing of the cognac casks might have become problematic in the future.  Who knows?  All I know is that this whisky will be gone forever, except for the bottles I manage to scoop up now.

Cheers!


Jason Debly

Review: Crown Royal Black Canadian Whisky

Colonial Tavern, Toronto, Nov. 21, 1977 Photo by Jean-Luc Ourlin

Let's say I have the opportunity to jam with B.B. King on some blues classics. And let's go further and say Mr. King will graciously play rhythm guitar and while I lay down some lead with my trusty axe.  The notes I hit have to be within the framework or the accepted scales (ie. 12-bar blues) or conventions of blues music.  Otherwise, the jam session will not be a blues jam, just a cacophonous disaster similar to the sounds of flying metal of a Russian satellite hurtling towards earth or Judge Judy chewing out a poor, hapless litigant.  Of course, I can take some chances and toss in some flamenco or maybe bluegrass, but I can't deviate too far.

For example, I cannot, midway through The Thrill Is Gone launch into chunks of a Randy Rhoad's guitar solo taken from his spellbinding performance of Suicide Solution with Ozzy Osbourne.



I just can't do that!  I have too much respect for Mr. King (and the memory  of the late Mr. Rhoads) and besides, the Blues jam would be ruined.

I'm all for innovation, but hey, ya gotta work within a certain framework or paradigm (I can't believe I just uttered that pretentious word).  If you completely disregard your context, you may succeed (very remote chance) or fail miserably (sadly more than likely).

Crown Royal Black Canadian Whisky

Crown Royal (click here for my review) is a towering classic Canadian whisky.  Enormously popular in Canada, the US and UK for its light, delicate fruit, vanilla, slight oak and a zing of rye that is smooth and satisfying to the casual drinker and the whisky nut.  A classic right?  So, why mess with a classic?  Well, if you are multinational company like Diageo (owner of the brand), you are always looking for ways to make more money.  Hence, product line extensions.

Currently, there are six brand variations available: Crown Royal Deluxe (standard bottling); Crown Royal Black; Crown Royal Limited Edition; Crown Royal Reserve; Cask 16; and Crown Royal XR.  Obviously there is money in extending a brand line.  Just ask the suits that own the Famous Grouse brand.  Trouble is . . . you have to make every new edition a little different, innovative, but not to the point that you disconnect from the conventions of your beverage that put you on the map in the first place.  Kinda like my imaginary jam session with B.B. King.

Crown Royal Black is the latest extension of the product line.  Introduced in April 2010 in the United States.  

The concept behind Crown Royal Black is to deliver a robust, full-bodied Canadian whisky with heavy helpings of oak, higher strength (90 proof) and bourbon notes.  Bourbon notes?  Yeah.  But before we address that attempt at innovation in Canadian whisky, let's deal with the most alarming issue when you pour yourself a drink.

It's dark.  I mean seriously dark, amber, and opaque, like divining your significant other's reason for the blackest of moods without the use of words.

Color
What's going on here?  I think serious amounts of E150 (spirit caramel) were added to create the dark near coffee color.  I am not aware of any Canadian whisky or scotch for that matter that is dark as this whisky.  Even 25 year old single malts are not this dark.  An additive was used to get it that dark.  No doubt about it.  That being said, my first reaction is "so what?"  Adding caramel is usually in amounts that is not discernible to taste.  It is done to make the spirit more appealing to the eye and imply considerable aging.  In any case, I think they went over board on this one.


Nose (undiluted)
Cherries, vanilla, floral and perfumed.  Pleasant, masculine, but not what I would call 'refined' or 'memorable.'


Palate (undiluted)
Molasses, dark Christmas fruit cake with lots of rum in the recipe, vanilla, oak and then . . . WTF!(#*@Y*$(:  bourbon?  Yeah, serious bourbon notes.  That sure threw me for a curve.  It is down right odd to taste this amount of bourbon in a Canadian whisky.  If that is not weird enough, you get serious coca cola flavors and that unmistakable soda fizz too.

Finish (undiluted)
The finish is rum like.  I am talking Havana Club 7 years with more of that coca-cola-esque fizz/nip.

General Impressions
If this was served to me in a blind tasting, I would guess it was either an aged, dark rum or a bourbon of some kind.  I would never think of it as a Canadian whisky.  Matter of fact, if they lifted the blindfold off me, I would be shocked to see that I was drinking from a bottle labelled "Crown Royal," as Crown Royal Black has no connection with the standard Crown Royal flavor profile.  None, zero, nada.  The only similarities between these two spirits is the sharing of the same brand name, bottle shape and multinational corporate parent (Diageo).

Crown Royal Black strikes me as a genuine attempt by the master blender to break new ground, by blending a more robust Canadian whisky.  The trouble is that the bourbon notes are over the top, followed by dark rum tastes that goes too far from what makes a Canadian whisky great.  It is not wise to tamper with the immutable conventions of Canadian whisky, but unfortunately they have to their detriment.

I drink this and I am truly baffled.  Does this spirit want to be a rum or a bourbon?  A real existential crisis of sorts is going on.  An unpleasant exorcism is needed from my liquor cabinet.

In general, Canadian whisky is a medium bodied, smooth with a flourish of the spices of rye spirit.  Sure there can be variations where some whiskies are heavier than others or more spiced, but the paradigm does not permit huge bourbon flavors or rum notes.  If you want rum, buy rum.  If you want bourbon, buy American bourbon.  Drink Crown Royal Black and you will not know what to make of it.

On the positive side: (1) it is not biting, in spite of being 90 proof, (2) relatively smooth; (3) works as a party drink on the rocks or with mix.  If you visit the Crown Royal website, they even recommend drinking this on the rocks.  This is a party drink.  It is not intended as a companion to profound fire side chats to be consumed neat as the flames lick the logs and cast off interesting shadows.

For me, Crown Royal Black is an experiment that has failed.  It is baffling, like trying to figure out the meaning of REM lyrics.  The master blender needs to take note of how Randy Rhodes took the conventions of heavy metal guitar to new bounds by gently stretching with a few classical guitar landmarks (scales, minor keys, etc.), but not to the point of confusing the listener.  They still knew they were listening to a great heavy metal song.  Me, I am confused.  I am not sure I am drinking Canadian whisky, but rather some horrible bastardization that can't decide if it wants to be bourbon or dark rum.

There are fans of this whisky, but clearly I am not one of them.  For an alternative opinion try the Canadian Whisky site (click here) for a review by it's critic, Davin de Kergommeaux.

Cheers!


Jason Debly

Copyright © Jason Debly, 2009-2011. All rights reserved. Any and all use is prohibited without permission.  Of course, the song "Suicide Solution" belongs to Ozzy Osbourne and the Youtube link is posted merely for nostalgic and educational purposes.  Moreover, all rights concerning the photo of B.B. King are held by the photographer, Jean-Luc Ourlin.

Crown Royal - Canadian Whisky

I know that my blog is focused on scotch reviews, but I am making an exception to review this great Canadian whisky.

Introducing a Fine Canadian Whisky

Crown Royal is enormously popular in the US, as well as elsewhere in the world. The reason for the popularity comes as no surprise to those who are familiar with this spirit. Crown Royal is pleasant, easy-drinking, refined yet versatile. It is versatile in the sense that there are a number of ways to enjoy it. Neat, on the rocks, mixed with ginger ale, coke, or as an ingredient in mixed drinks.

Crown Royal is comprised exclusively of Canadian whiskies.  Distillation of the whiskies comprising Crown Royal is carried out at an enormous group of buildings in Gimli, Manitoba.  This whisky achieves its' unique and complex flavor by way of the distillation of several different grains, namely: barley, corn, rye and wheat. These grains are then aged in both new oak casks and also used ones that previously housed wine.  The combination of varying ages and storage casks produce the whisky, which of course is blended.  In this standard Crown Royal bottling, the majority of composite whiskies are young, though there are a few older ones added.  Of course, as you progress into the more expensive product offerings like the Limited Edition, Special Reserve and Crown Royal XR, the whiskies used are more aged imparting terrific complexity.

Serving Suggestion

I enjoy Crown Royal in a crystal tumbler neat but also from time to time with two ice cubes.

Nose

Faint notes of vanilla and fresh out-of-the-oven lemon bread. No scent of alcohol here, which is nice.

Palate

A sip of this will introduce the taster to gentle vanilla and honey. "Delicate" in a word is a way of describing how these flavors intermingle. You will also note faint oak in the background, which no doubt was contributed to by the time spent aging in barrels of all the whiskies composing this spirit.

Finish

Light, balanced and almost instantly the flavor is gone, prompting the taster to sip once more (a potentially intoxicating endeavour).

Final Thoughts

This is certainly an enjoyable drinking experience. Crown Royal is more sophisticated and smoother than other Canadian whiskies like Canadian Club or Royal Reserve. While the smooth character of this whisky is pleasing and a source of pleasure, it is also a source of disappointment for the whisky connoisseur seeking a thought provoking flavor profile.  The connoisseur who wants to sit with a tumbler of this whisky and plumb the fathoms of its flavor will be disappointed quickly because the flavour while delicate and smooth will quickly bore such an individual who is looking for "complexity" of flavor.

Another source of disappointment for the serious whisky afficianado is the short finish. There is virtually no lingering of flavor. Its gone as quickly as you swallow it. It should be noted there is no "burn" when swallowed. Its that smooth!  I like Crown Royal for what it is: an easy drinking whisky to be enjoyed with friends while socializing. When I am in the mood to sit in my lazy boy and treat myself to a complex whisky, I would not choose this whisky, but rather would opt for a single malt Scotch.

Cheers!

Jason Debly

P.S.  Are you looking for a review of Crown Royal Black?  If so, click here.

© Jason Debly, 2009-2013. All rights reserved.