I have not posted a review yet of the base Crown Royal expression (aka “DeLuxe”) – but I find there are better Canadian rye whiskies among the bottom-shelf options (e.g. Canadian Club 100% Rye<\/a>, J.P. Wiser’s Double Still<\/a> or even Hiram Walker’s Special Old<\/a>).\u00a0 I have had some higher-end Crown Royals that I’ve quite enjoyed (e.g. Monarch<\/a>), so I was keen to give this Cab Sauv finished Crown Royal.<\/p>\n Bottled at 40.5% ABV (oddly), it currently retails for $70 CAD at the LCBO. I picked it up for $60 during the Canada Day online sale.<\/p>\n Here are how the various Crown Royals compare in my Meta-Critic database:<\/p>\n Crown Royal: 7.59 \u00b1 0.46 on 19 reviews ($) While only a few reviews are in so far, this is a very good score for a Crown Royal – the second-highest in my database, to date.<\/p>\n And now for a few other non-fortified wine barrel-finished whiskies:<\/p>\n Arran Malt Amarone Cask Finish 8.76 \u00b1 0.33 on 11 reviews ($$$) What strikes me in the above list is how different wine cask finishings have both enhanced and reduced the typical scores for the given distilleries – as well as having greatly increased the variability in reviewer scores in many cases. It seems that wine cask finishing can be a bit hit or miss.<\/p>\n Here is what I find in the glass for this Crown Royal:<\/p>\n Nose<\/strong>: Very sweet and fruity, but with a definite underlying sourness. Cola and Juicy Fruit gum note (i.e., high-fructose corn syrup sweet). Prunes, raisins, sour cherry, with red and black currants. Also gooseberries (aka ground cherries). Citrus, lemon in particular (reminds me of Pledge furniture wax, but in a good way). Earthy, with anise and some tobacco. A bit grassy. Spicy, with cloves and a bit of pepper. Some similarity to Green Spot Chateau Leoville Barton<\/a>, but the rye whisky is definitely present here – it is just being overshadowed by the wine cask. There is a fairly unique off-note that reminds me of a musty kitchen sponge – plus of course acetone (with all that fruity sweetness). Definitely complex and unique.<\/p>\n Palate<\/strong>: Caramel and vanilla dominate on the initial palate – surprisingly so, since I didn’t detect them on the nose. These are followed by those dark fruits and cola syrup notes.\u00a0 Buttered popcorn. Definitely oaky (fresh, young oak). A lighter mint note joins the earthiness from the nose. The rest of the baking spices – nutmeg, cinnamon and all spice – join the cloves. The initial mouthfeel is rather watery (as to be expected for 40.5% ABV), but it leaves a sticky residue on the lips and gums. Subsequent sips have a decidedly alkaline feel (i.e., slippery, almost oily), but sticky after you swallow. Quite unique in my experience. Astringent on the way out, with some classic Crown Royal bitterness (sadly).<\/p>\n Finish<\/strong>: Long. Lingering cola and dark fruits initially, turning more into wine gums over time. Mouth-puckering astringency is there, but not much bitterness fortunately. Oddly enough, it ends with a more typical rye spice finish once all the fruits\/wine gums finally die down.<\/p>\n Water lightens the mouthfeel and doesn’t bring anything new – I recommend you drink it neat.<\/p>\n Very popular with Jason of In Search of Elegance<\/a>. and Davin of Whisky Advocate<\/a>. I am not quite as positive, but would still give it an above average score for a Canadian whisky, and one my highest scores for a Crown Royal. Debbie of Whiskey Reviewer<\/a> gave it a below average score (although with a positive review, and also considering it one of the best CRs). Devoz<\/a> of Reddit was less positive of this expression.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This whisky is the second member in Crown Royal’s “Noble Collection” – a new line of higher-end products from the Gimli, Manitoba distillery. This expression is finished for six months in freshly emptied, medium-toast Cabernet Sauvignon casks from the Paso Robles region of California. Fresh wine cask finishes can impart some interesting notes – although not always universally pleasant ones.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4345,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[21,60,25],"class_list":["post-4144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-whiskies","tag-canadian","tag-crown-royal","tag-rye"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/whiskyanalysis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4144","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/whiskyanalysis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/whiskyanalysis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whiskyanalysis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whiskyanalysis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4144"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/whiskyanalysis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4144\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4363,"href":"https:\/\/whiskyanalysis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4144\/revisions\/4363"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whiskyanalysis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4345"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/whiskyanalysis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whiskyanalysis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whiskyanalysis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nCrown Royal Black: 8.21 \u00b1 0.49 on 16 reviews ($$)
\nCrown Royal Hand Selected Barrel: 8.86 \u00b1 0.28 on 10 reviews ($$$)
\nCrown Royal Limited Edition: 8.30 \u00b1 0.19 on 11 reviews ($$)
\nCrown Royal Monarch 75th Anniversary: 8.62 \u00b1 0.48 on 12 reviews ($$$)
\nCrown Royal Noble Collection Cornerstone Blend: 8.35 \u00b1 0.80 on 4 reviews ($$$)
\nCrown Royal Noble Collection Wine Barrel Finished: 8.72 \u00b1 0.55 on 5 reviews ($$$)<\/strong>
\nCrown Royal Northern Harvest Rye: 8.55 \u00b1 0.35 on 18 reviews ($$)
\nCrown Royal Reserve: 8.47 \u00b1 0.67 on 14 reviews ($$$)
\nCrown Royal XO: 8.56 \u00b1 0.57 on 7 reviews ($$$)<\/p>\n
\nArran Malt Pomerol Bordeaux Cask Finish 8.35 \u00b1 0.62 on 8 reviews ($$$$)
\nArran Malt Sassicaia Wine Cask Finish 8.76 \u00b1 0.17 on 5 reviews ($$$$$)
\nArran Malt Tokaji Aszu Wine Finish 8.78 \u00b1 0.34 on 4 reviews ($$$$)
\nBruichladdich 21yo Cuv\u00e9e 640 Eroica 8.74 \u00b1 0.40 on 9 reviews ($$$$$)
\nBruichladdich 21yo Cuv\u00e9e 382 La Berenice 8.57 \u00b1 0.56 on 6 reviews ($$$$$)
\nForty Creek Evolution: 8.70 \u00b1 0.68 on 8 reviews ($$$)
\nGreen Spot Ch\u00e2teau L\u00e9oville Barton 8.81 \u00b1 0.34 on 7 reviews ($$$$)
\nLongrow 7yo Gaja Barolo Finish 8.59 \u00b1 0.51 on 7 reviews ($$$$)
\nLongrow 10yo Tokaji Finish 7.47 \u00b1 1.10 on 6 reviews ($$$$$)
\nLongrow Red 11yo Australian Shiraz 8.86 \u00b1 0.34 on 6 reviews ($$$$$)
\nLongrow Red 11yo Cabernet Sauvignon 8.43 \u00b1 1.15 on 11 reviews ($$$$$)
\nLongrow Red 12yo Pinot Noir Finish 8.84 0.34 on 7 reviews ($$$$$)
\nLongrow Red 14yo Burgundy Wood 8.54 \u00b1 0.70 on 5 reviews ($$$$$)
\nTeeling Single Grain (Wine Cask Finish) 8.53 \u00b1 0.32 on 10 reviews ($$$)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/whiskyanalysis.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Crown.Royal_.Wine_.Finished.jpg\")
<\/a>This is a unique Crown Royal – and a quality one at that. I can’t think of anything quite like it on the Canadian whisky scene (correction: Forty Creek Evolution is a comparable style<\/em>). While I wasn’t sure on the first initial sniffs, it really grew on me as I started to sample it. I haven’t tried the cognac-finished Crown Royals (e.g. XO), but this is kind of how I imagine it could taste, given my experience with Bruichladdich Cuvee 640 Eroica<\/a>. While perhaps a bit steep at list MSRP, this Wine Barrel Finished was certainly a good buy on sale – especially if you like your whisky sweet and complex.<\/p>\n