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Crown Royal Limited Edition

A Bunch Of Canucks - Part VI

1 495

@talexanderReview by @talexander

20th Apr 2013

0

Crown Royal Limited Edition
  • Nose
    24
  • Taste
    24
  • Finish
    23
  • Balance
    24
  • Overall
    95

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Distribution of ratings for this: brand user

Now comes something quite unique, from a sample courtesy of @paddockjudge. Crown Royal Limited Edition is one of the few Canadian whiskies that is only available in Canada, so it is something we can truly call our own (and only our own). This particular sample, however, comes from a bottle with a 1975 tax stamp! And what makes this particularly interesting is that, since 1992, Crown Royal has been produced at the Gimli Distillery in Manitoba; but before that it was produced at Seagram's Waterloo Distillery. Now, the only way today you can usually taste spirit from the old Waterloo Distillery is through Crown Royal XR (the old expression, not the new one from the old LaSalle Distillery that is not yet distributed in Canada). You can still get the old Crown Royal XR in Canada ($180), and so may be more like this 1975 LE than the modern LE, since the XR and the 1975 LE are both from Waterloo. For those who are interested, this comes from Bottle No. BAH075 and has been open since May 29 2012 (both mine and @paddockjudge's birthday).

The colour is a medium gold. The nose is very weighty, deep, rich and full - more so than the modern CR LE that I remember (and I think more like the old XR.) You could easily confuse this with a bourbon: tons of oak, vanilla and caramel, but richly vegetal. So much going on! Damp campfire and wet rubber boots, even. Totally unexpected delight. A few drops of water bring out more rye notes.

The palate is where the rye comes in, all dusty and fruity, with the light caramel in the background. Balsamic, grapefruit pith and peaches. As with the nose, water brings out more rye character: grapefruit, wet slate and caraway. Crisp and delicious.

The finish is long but gentle, with pencil shavings and cotton candy. Wow. This has seriously blown me away. I very much like the modern CR LE but this is in an entirely other category. This is an incredible whisky, and if this what they were routinely drinking back in 1975...we have a lot to live up to.

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4 comments

@Victor
Victor commented

Damn! Guess I am going to have to sample and review that sample of Crown Royal LE that our friend @paddockjudge gave me. I think that I kept it til near the end of the samples to review precisely because I thought that I would likely never have a chance to buy a bottle of it.

One point of disagreement: my experience has been that most of the best Canadian whiskies are unavailable in the US, and I would guess that that would also be true of other countries.

I am greatly looking forward to giving this a try, and am avoiding reading your review closely until I sample this for myself. But first, some believed-to-be-lesser luminaries are in my Canadian whisky review queue.

11 years ago 0

@talexander
talexander commented

Thanks @Victor! However, I'm not sure I understand your disagreement - I rate this whisky very highly, and it is not available outside of Canada - as you say.

Looking forward to your review of this - as I look forward to all your reviews!

11 years ago 0

@Victor
Victor commented

The disagreement was only with the statement that there are "...few Canadian whiskies which (is) only available in Canada." These half a dozen trips I have made to Canada in the last couple of years have been largely because I haven't been able to get most of the most highly rated Canadian whiskies in the USA.

And I am looking forward to a close reading of your Crown Royal Limited Edition 1975 review after I record my own notes, as I look forward to all of YOUR reviews. Too bad that Sudbury is a long drive from Toronto. Thanks again, @paddockjudge!

11 years ago 1Who liked this?

@paddockjudge
paddockjudge commented

It is now clear to me why I was slow to discover Bourbon and Malt; with great Canadian blends such as this one populating my cabinet, I was not in a hurry to leave my own backyard and explore other parts of the whisk(e)y world.

As I sample this 1975 gem, I find it has opened up even more (with some additional months of potentially damaging exposure); it is well known that the act of keeping an open bottle can be a double-edged sword.

@talexander, it is satisfying to know that you enjoyed this scarce juice and @Victor, I'm anxious to see your appraisal of CRLE Bottle No. BAH075.

Highlights of 1975

Teamster leader Jimmy Hoffa disappears.

Halderman, Erlickman, Mitchell convicted of conspiracy.

Microsoft boots up.

5 song U.K. - The Band Of The Black Watch - Scotch On The Rocks.

UK inflation continues to spiral out of control reaching 24.2% the price of Petrol increased by nearly 70%.

Margaret Thatcher elected leader of British Conservative Party.

"Rocky Horror Show" opens at Belasco Theater NYC.

David Frost purchases exclusive rights to interview Nixon.

Czech tennis star Martina Navratilova asks for US political asylum in New York City during the US Open.

Lynette Fromme sentenced to life for attempt on Pres Ford's life. Sara Jane Moore pled guilty to trying to kill Pres Gerald Ford.

Paddockjudge begins sampling Canadian whisky.

Cheers! pj

11 years ago 0