Notes: Crown Royal is a blended Canadian Whisky line going back  Seagrams and the Bronfman family with the introduction of the Crown Royal Whisky in honor of the maiden visit of King George and Queen Elizabeth to Canada in 1939. Made with over 50 distinct whiskies in the blend it has always been one of the more recognized of the Canadian Whiskies. Over time many other line extensions such as Crown Royal Deluxe, Crown Royal Black ,Crown Royal Reserve, Crown Royal XO, Crown Royal Extra Rare, and this their latest, Crown Royal Monarch 75th Anniversary Blend for their 75th anniversary of the visit and the brand. There is all a Crown Royal Maple Finished Whisky.

This is a special anniversary blend using more of their fabled Coffey still rye whiskey stocks than the norm and a special whiskey from that still in particular (unfortunately not specified). Created by their Master Blender Andrew Mackay this is a very limited edition whisky that will probably be sold out rather quickly with all the whisky craze going on these days so I would suggest getting your bottle while you can.

Appearance: Clear gold amber,on swirling it forms an oily coat on the glass with a slowly forming droplet line then legs

First Impression: Nicely mellow toffee and rye spice notes with hints of cinnamon and whispers of nutmeg ver the toffee and rye notes

Taste: Smooth and relatively sweet entry for a rye, with vanilla, caramel, dried fruits, figs, preserved bananas, and slightly drying with a spicy finish that is slightly warming with a pleasant aftertaste of barrel char and vanillins in the pleasantly lingering finish

Drinks: Since you are paying north of $60 a bottle for this and its rather delicate nature I wouldn’t really recommend using t in cocktails. Enjoy this on its own and use a cheaper grade of Crown Royal with mixers.

Bottle: Since we only have a small sample bottle we cannot comment on the packaging details much ( and also why we had to resort to a stock photo). Standard Crown Royal flask/horseshoe shaped bottle with their pressed glass design except slightly taller and narrower as far as we can make out. The cap also appears to be a different color also. Each bottle is  hand numbered. Silver rather than standard purple bag. That is about all we can glean from the stock photos

Cigars: An Ashton or Davidoff with a shade grown wrapper.

Final Thoughts: A very nicely done example of what is possible by a master blender with a stock of whiskey to create a signature blend. While many people look down on blended whiskies as inferior products, few people realize that blending can be like a symphony rather than a solo ( as in a single malt or single barrel variety whiskey). With the right components a symphony can be much larger than the sum of its parts.

Website: http://www.crownroyal.com
While big on content, the site is very light on facts or factual,useful information as to the actual whisky or the whiskies involved and their production.Full of recipes, organizations, promotions and lots of other material, but very little of substance regarding the actual whisky.