Crown Royal Reserve

My bottle, purchased in the USA in the state of Virginia, also says Reserve on the bottle and Special Reserve on the cap. There was no case or cloth bag when I purchased this a few months ago.

@talexander, having sampled from your reviewed bottle, if I had known that there would be so much difference between your bottle and mine, I would have brought a sample from my bottle with me to Toronto for you to taste side by side. I think that you would be amazed at the differences. I have resampled my own bottle since I have been home and I have to say that I think that you got a bottle from an off batch. Mr. Murray wasn't nuts in liking the flavours in "my bottle". The differences between 'sharp and vivid' and 'dull and muffled' are pretty easy to spot. I have sampled the Crown Royal XR, but not the Special Edition. The sample of XR I had was very similar to my bottle of (Special) Reserve, but not anywhere near as good. I would, though, as you did, similarly describe the sample I had of Crown Royal XR as better than the sample I had from your bottle.

These batch variations can be maddening. I have had several crappy first samples from usually good whiskies, which put me off from those whiskies for a very long time. One of the things I really like about reading Jim Murray is that he is not the least bit shy about changing his numerical ratings on a whisky by as much as 15 points from one reviewed sample to the next of the same whisky. In my book that just reflects the variability that actually occurs. The samples of standard Crown Royal I have had over the years had never impressed me much. It always seems kind of blah to me...dull, and without much dimension. Lately, though, I have been buying cheap minis of standard Crown Royal for sample reuse purposes which have been much spicier and better than before, in fact, I would say, spicier than is your present bottle of Crown Royal Special Reserve. Most people want to know what they are getting and therefore want consistency in their whiskies. That only occurs for variable limited periods of time.

About the CR Reserve labeling: mine has a light brown bag, the identical outer box as those in Ontario, and a cap that does say Special Reserve. My bottle cap is a different colour than is yours--light brown to match the bag, whereas I remember yours to have been more silvery.

To conclude, having sampled from your reviewed bottle of the Crown Royal (Special) Reserve I would now be much more cautious about considering buying another bottle of it for myself.

It really is surprising how different they are in this case. I can understand more when the same single malt distillery bottlings are a little different, but a blend? Isn't part of the point to adjust the quantities of each whisky to ensure consistency? You would think they would be much more careful with this, ESPECIALLY with a brand as important (and which has so many devotees) as Crown Royal. Hmmmm. I wonder if something else is at work here - I wouldn't put it past Diageo to export a higher quality whisky than what is kept here within our borders, where brand loyalty is more assured. I smell a conspiracy!

Speaking of differences in individual bottles, ask @dbk about his bottle of Amrut Fusion...if you want the hairs in your ears singed! I can tell you that his bottle tastes just as he says it does, and about a galaxy removed in taste from other Amrut Fusion I have sampled.

I've consumed both the domestic and export expressions of Crown Royal "Special" - they were superb; however, the U.S. "special" was indeed 'more special' and surpassed the domestic offerings of 2010 and 2012. Probably different blends sharing the same style of bottle and sporting their own colors.

Interesting....thanks @paddockjudge!