Some acetone, but not bad – better than the one Hand Selected Barrel I tried. Something hard to describe, but reminiscent of powdered candy canes. Nose: Sweet and fruity nose, very creamy too. While there are not too many reviews, that’s certainly a good score for a Crown Royal. Let’s see how it compares to other Crown Royals in Meta-Critic Whisky Database:Ĭrown Royal: 7.57 ± 0.49 on 19 reviews ($)Ĭrown Royal Black: 8.20 ± 0.50 on 16 reviews ($$)Ĭrown Royal Blender’s Select: 8.61 ± 0.14 on 4 reviews ($$)Ĭrown Royal Bourbon Mash (Blender’s Mash): 8.32 ± 0.50 on 4 reviews ($$)Ĭrown Royal Hand Selected Barrel: 8.77 ± 0.29 on 11 reviews ($$$)Ĭrown Royal Limited Edition: 8.29 ± 0.19 on 11 reviews ($$)Ĭrown Royal Monarch 75th Anniversary: 8.62 ± 0.47 on 12 reviews ($$$)Ĭrown Royal Noble Collection Cornerstone Blend: 8.37 ± 0.69 on 5 reviews ($$$)Ĭrown Royal Noble Collection Wine Barrel Finished: 8.70 ± 0.53 on 6 reviews ($$$)Ĭrown Royal Northern Harvest Rye: 8.56 ± 0.34 on 18 reviews ($$)Ĭrown Royal Reserve: 8.46 ± 0.65 on 15 reviews ($$$)Ĭrown Royal XO: 8.56 ± 0.54 on 8 reviews ($$$) It sells for $55 CAD exclusively at the LCBO (although I’ve seen it on sale a couple of times now). To create this blended whisky, Crown Royal has added some 9 year old whisky to the standard 7 year old used in Hand Selected Barrel, to help compensate for the lower proof in this batched version (45% ABV). I’m surprised they had enough available to produce this 5000-case release, as this high-demand whisky is only made once a year, over a 5 week period, at their plant in Gimli, Manitoba. This is a cask-strength, single barrel version of one of the core “flavouring” whiskies used in most Crown Royal blends – a high-rye mashbill, coffey still-distilled, virgin oak-aged whisky.īut now, Ontarians can get a taste of what this bourbon-style whisky is like – through Blender’s Select, a batched version sold exclusively at the LCBO. One of Manitoba’s natural beauties, the town of Gimli hugs the western shoreline of one of the world’s largest freshwater lakes, with sandy beaches, an active harbor and the largest Icelandic population outside of Iceland.One of the pet peeves of Crown Royal whisky fans in Canada is that one of their best bottlings – Hand Selected Barrel – is only available in the U.S. Nestled on the edge of Lake Winnipeg, Crown Royal’s distillery in Gimli, Manitoba, is home to 1.5 million barrels of delicious whisky that sit patiently waiting to be shared with the world.
Palate: Caramel and butterscotch with red grapes and fermented grape leaves.įinish: Wood tannins: spice with anise and clove. Nose: Heavy fruit and butterscotch: black currant, cove, with dried blueberry. Crown Royal Noble Collection Wine Barrel Finished Blended Canadian Whisky Tasting Notes
I want the flavors to slow down, give me a little time to ponder and then we can move on. I feel like there’s so much going on that I don’t have time to stop and enjoy the dried blueberry or the butterscotch sweetness because the next flavor comes so quickly. Dried fruit and butterscotch coat my tastebuds, and it finishes off with a grainy, oaky flavor that isn’t necessarily great but definitely isn’t bad. Palate: This whisky tastes better than it smells. A day or two after I opened the bottle, the smell mellowed out a little. There’s definitely a lot going on here it’s an interesting combination of minty mouthwash and butterscotch with dark fruit sprinkled on top.
Nose: When I first opened my sample-size bottle, the scent was very astringent and almost unbearably boozey. The legs are slow-moving and sticky like water drops sliding down a window on a rainy day. The price varies between $45 and $60 per bottle.Īppearance: Light amber, honey colored. Aged for six months in Cabernet Sauvignon barrels from the Paso Robles region of California. Vital Stats: The mash bill is presumably the same combination of the 50 different whiskies used to make Crown Royal’s traditional blend.
Whisky Review: Crown Royal Noble Collection Wine Barrel Finished The result is an intriguing new character that is still unmistakably Crown Royal. Canadian club whiskey Crown Royal Wine Barrel Finished, the second expression in the Crown Royal Noble Collection showcases our Crown Royal Fine De Luxe Whiskey, the standard of excellence for Canadian Whiskey, finished in Cabernet Sauvignon wine barrels.