Crown Royal Monarch 75th Anniversary

As I’ve said before, Canadian whisky isn’t my specialty. There are a few I like, and I thank @paddockjudge for introducing me to the genre and educating me. He also provides me with samples (like this one) so that I don’t have to fill my cabinet with bottles I may not ever want to reach for, but I still get to try a variety of styles.

Today is the first time (to my knowledge) that I have tried a Crown Royal product. This was the second one I tried after reviewing Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye.

Nose: Immediate fruit blast which fades quickly, rye spice, a baking spice – the smell of Granny Smith apples when my mother cuts them and mixes them with cinnamon and sugar (and a little lemon juice?) and is about to put them into a pie crust. Later light honey or syrup. 21/25 a drop or two of water brings the cinnamon out a little but not much else.

Taste: First sip is mild, fruity, sweet. A touch of spice that grows with subsequent sips. Pleasant but unremarkable 20/ 25
Water makes it a touch sweeter.

Finish is sweet with a citrus aftertaste but short. On exhaling sometimes I get a bourbon note. 20/25

Balance: although unremarkable, it’s fairly balanced: 21/25

Total Score with or without water: 82

PS: mixing this with Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye in equal proportions creates something better than the NHR and more complex than the Monarch. I am not sure I would repeat it.

Crown Royal Monarch is a bottling celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the expression. 75 years ago (sorry, 76 years ago since this came out last year), Sam Bronfman created this blended Canadian whisky to celebrate the state visit to Canada of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in 1939. Apparently this expression features more rye, distilled in Crown Royal's ancient Coffey still - which the original Crown Royal of 1939 likely ran off from. This bottle comes from Batch No. 8.

The colour is a deep brownish gold. On the nose you have the typical signature Crown Royal style - dates, bananas, vanilla and oak. But there is more of a minty rye presence. Ginger. Papaya. Lilacs. Allspice. Lumber. More rye spices emerge with water. Very complex, enjoyable and inviting.

On the palate we get more spices (cloves, cinnamon) as well as grapefruit pith, woody oak, toffee and some vanilla (though less than you might expect). Silky mouthfeel. Herbaceous. Water accentuates the caramel and gives more of a caraway rye kick. Quite delicious, actually - and rather addictive.

The finish is mouth-drying with sawdust, more cloves and rum-raisin - long and always developing with more rich, savoury herbs and spices. This is excellent Canadian whisky - Crown Royal turned up to 11. David de Kergommeaux, the worldwide authority on Canadian whisky, rated this a 96. I wouldn't go quite that high, but I'm going very close. I was going to say that I wish I had bought more bottles when I had the chance, but I just checked inventory and there are many bottles still available in Ontario, and at $CDN60 this is good value for quality. I won't feel bad if I drink more of this than I really should. And next up - our last review - will be a Canadian whisky you cannot get in Canada.

Crown Royal started out of a blend created in 1939 for the visit of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. We are now 75 years from that point, and this limited bottling was produced to commemorate the 75th anniversary. It comes complete with a batch and bottling number certificate (I have batch 0060, bottle U84X8).

It's very nicely presented, other than the fact that the bottle looks a lot like the standard Crown Royal with a fancy cap. It does diminish from the overall presentation when the bottle seems to be the least interesting part of the lot. It's priced around 75$, and is around there in both Canada and the US - fitting for the 75th anniversary.

Nose: Rich and complex, as one can often expect from special Crown Royal releases. Dark caramel, light orange, pineapple, plum jam, dried apricot, light cola and root beer notes, and a light, creamy elegance which smells as if its contributed through corn. There's also some fresh orange - and a bit of dusty rye does indeed come out. Vanilla starts to emerge with time. along with some oak and hints of oaky earthiness. A fair bit is going on, but, frankly, the cola and root beer notes seem to detract a bit from it all for me - they just seem a bit "cheaper" than the rest of the nose. 88%

Taste: Very thick, and showing some decent caramel and oak. It's quite full and creamy in feel, with some interesting rye - both the candied rye notes of straight ryes and the grassy and sharp rye notes too. At times there is a touch of bitterness, as if some slightly over-oaked whisky has been blended in this - and sometimes this drifts a little into the finish. It's very rich, and I quite enjoy the flavour integration in this - but sometimes I think it is a bit underpowered - I think you could still get much of the same elegance and creaminess with a bit more ABV. There's a bit of spice that drifts in towards the finish - some clove, and a bit of nutmeg. It's well balanced, and it goes down quite easily. 88%

Finish: The development from the taste continues, and the feel is fantastic - creamy indeed. Light oak, caramel, orange, corn, grapefruit peel, and some cinnamon and clove are all present. It has a bit of a zesty feel to it after time, and slowly seems to "cleanse" your mouth leaving it to feel quite fresh. The quality is very nice of this, but it is too short, despite the nice corn that lingers for some time. 87%

Intrigue: This whisky has some incredible elements to it, but a few things that detract, unfortunately - strands of oaky bitterness on the palate and some detracting elements on the nose. But, beyond that, it is very nice and the rest of this bottle will definitely be enjoyed. It's extremely drinkable and one of those whiskies that begs for another pour again and again... 90%

Weighting the nose 25%, taste 35%, Finish 15%, and Intrigue 25% the overall grade is 89.