Crown Royal
Crown Royal is a Canadian blend (whiskey) . It has 40% alcohol by volume and is one of the best-selling Canadian whiskeys in the USA . The Crown Royal brand is currently owned by Diageo . The company bought the brand in 2000 when the Seagram portfolio was liquidated.
production
The Crown Royal, created as a "Blend de Luxe" on the occasion of the state visit of the British King and his wife in 1939, is now exclusively produced in the Crown Royal Gimli distillery . The distillery is located on the shores of Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba, Canada . Originally it was also produced in Waterloo , Ontario ; the facility was closed in 1992. The daily production of the Crown Royal takes 10,000 bushels of grain. The Crown Royal is kept in 46 warehouses at the Gimli distillery. The facility extends over 2 hectares of land. Canadian whiskey is mixed and bottled in Amhertsburg, Ontario.
In 2006 sales exceeded $ 500 million. As a result of a labor dispute, the production of the whiskey had to be almost completely interrupted in January 2007. 52 of the 53 employees of the distillery voted for the production stop in the course of the labor dispute. From February 1st, production of the Crown Royal should be stopped. It was only in negotiations that followed on January 23, 2007 that a production stop could be averted. On the night before the end of the strike period, the parties agreed with 75 percent on a new three-year contract.
Variations of the Crown Royal
Several variations of the Crown Royal have emerged in the last few decades. In 1992 the Crown Royal Special Reserve was introduced. It was recognized as one of the best young whiskeys. In October 2008, a new version of the Crown Royal Special Reserve was launched. It was offered as the Crown Royal Reserve. The new whiskey was bottled in the same bottle as the Special Reserve. However, it appeared with a new label and in new packaging.
The Royal XR was introduced in the United States in 2006. It has also been available in Québec since January 2006. The Crown Royal XR was only launched in a limited edition. To this day, the variant is sold in specially numbered bottles. It is one of the last varieties to be distilled in the Waterloo distillery. After the Waterloo distillery shut down in 1992, only a small amount of whiskey was left behind. The Crown Royal XR was rated 7 ¼ and 7 ¾ by critics in whiskey magazines.
In 2007 the variant Crown Royal Cask No. 16 was introduced. The introduction took place relatively late. This variant is made from whiskeys that are more than 50 years old. The Crown Royal Cask No. 16 is stored in 12 year old cognac barrels. The barrels are made from oak that comes from a forest in France. The grains that are used for the Crown Royal Cask No. 16 give the whiskey a note of rye and fruit. The most recent variant of the Canadian whiskey brought onto the market is the Crown Royal Black. It only appeared in April 2010. The variant has a higher alcohol content than the previous Crown Royal varieties. On average, this variant costs $ 5 more than the Crown Royal De Luxe.
The manufacturer has set recommended retail prices for Crown Royal products. According to these, the Crown Royal De Luxe costs 25 US dollars and the Crown Royal Black 30 US dollars. The Crown Royal Reserve is estimated at $ 45 and the Crown Royal Cask No. 16 is $ 80. In the US, the Crown Royal XR comes with the highest price. The suggested retail price here is $ 129. In Germany only the "normal" Crown Royal is usually available.
Awards
The Crown Royal variants have received several awards in the past. Internationally, the whiskey received several good reviews. In the period from 2005 to 2007, the Crown Royal whiskey received the String Gold Medal from the San Francisco World Spirits. The Special Reserve variant received the Editor Choice Gold Award from an international whiskey magazine. Critics gave the whiskey ratings from 7 to 8 ¾.
literature
- Charles MacLean (Ed.): Whiskey. World Guide, Regions, Distillers, Malts, Blends, Tasting Notes. Dorling Kindersley, London et al. 2008, ISBN 978-0-7566-3349-3 .
- Walter Schobert: The whiskey dictionary. Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, Frankfurt / M. 2003, ISBN 978-3-596-15868-3 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Gilbert Delos: Les Whiskeys du Monde. Translation from French: Karin-Jutta Hofmann: Whiskey from all over the world. Karl Müller, Erlangen 1998, ISBN 3-86070-442-7 , p. 134 f.
- ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from March 26, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Variations of the Crown Royal
