Crown Royal Cornerstone Blend

There's $65 saved for something else.

Absolutely! I hope to do this a lot more in the future to cut down on my purchases... and of course give as much as I get.

@Nozinan You know that Canadian Whisky is not my favorite type of whisky either. But I don't think I lack the palate but for me they often are too sweet with no counterparts to give them balance and complexity. I have to add that they are playing with flavors I don't like in my whisky, like Maple! There is two that I realy like: ,Legacy and Gibson 18. I first loved Lot 40, but after afew sips, it is too much. I feel like I am drinking from a bottle of perfume. I don't apologise because I am not blaming them or saying it is not good, I am simply saying that I prefer something else. It is not only my right, it is something on which I have no control, that is the way it is.

@Astroke, there is hope! You don't ask a vegan "how is the steak tar-tar?"

I have the greatest respect for @Nozinan and his penchant for cask-strength expressions, and @Robert99 appreciates the super-premium Canadian expressions, but cannot tolerate the lesser offerings with their abundant fruit, floral, and caramel notes.

@Astroke, I know you enjoy Danfield's 21 and have a fondness for clean sherried malts; this one is right in my wheel house and I believe it will be in yours too. It has excellent structure and balance. The older whisky from bourbon barrels and the younger ones from new oak casks come together to create a wonderful balance...I could go on, but I'd rather pause and drink this gem. I scored it a 92.

See? I just don't get it. Clearly my palate does not pick up the same subtleties as others find in this whisky.

@paddockjudge, I guess you don't need me to save you the rest of the sample...

If it weren't too hot to drink whisky I would raise cask strength single malt toast to differing tastes!

@Nozinan, this heat wave is a great opportunity to try something on ice...like CR Cornerstone or perhaps a lesser batch of A'bunadh.

A'Bunadh on ice? Good thing you're in Sudbury right now....

@paddockjudge,I may give it whirl later on as I certainly value your opinion on Whiskey (especially Canadian Whiskey). If Diagio wants my money then give me CR Select Cask. Yes, I did grab a Cask 16 return a few weeks ago but that was more of a collector/trade bait purchase.

So, this was just picked by Whisky Advocate as the Canadian Whisky of the Year for 2016, and in the write-up there's an interesting piece of trivia that I was not aware of:

"A few years ago, when they were making a batch of Crown Royal Deluxe, workers at the Gimli distillery accidentally blended in an extra tanker car of flavoring whisky. Rather than leave an expensive railcar out of service, they transferred this whisky back into barrels to await future needs. In the barrel, new crisp oaky notes, rye spices, soaring florals, and hints of chocolate developed, and so Cornerstone Blend was born."

(I made an identical comment on another Cornerstone review, but thought it worthwhile to post here too)

It certainly is not my Canadian Whisky of the year. I've only had 2 that might qualify for 201, and in the next 1-3 weeks expect to post a review of one I'm about to try, but the Lot 40 CS I tasted at SOT and Wiser's Last Barrels are definitely superior according to my inferior taste buds.