Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye – The Best Whisky of the Year

Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye – The Best Whisky of the Year

 The most famous of all the Canadian whiskies, Crown Royal is made with over 50 different whiskies, and they’ve been making it for over 70 years. It was first created in 1939 to celebrate the visit of King George VI to Canada.

 In addition to being named 2016 World Whisky of the Year, Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye received a double gold medal at this year’s San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye is part of Crown Royal’s vast portfolio of variants for whisky lovers to enjoy, including Crown Royal Regal Apple, the #1 innovation launch across U.S. Spirits over the past 12 month period, according to Nielsen and NABCA (Source: Nielsen xAOC 52 weeks through 10/10/15, NABCA 52wk ending 9/30/15), and Crown Royal Hand Selected Barrel, a double gold recipient and winner of “Best Canadian Whisky” in the 2015 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

 Tasting Notes:

Vital stats: 90 proof, mash bill 90% rye/10% undisclosed, no age statement, retail pricing around $30

Appearance: Dark coppery gold

Nose: Gobs of red and dark fruit – cherry, plum, apricot, watermelon – drenched in wildflower honey. Warm multigrain toast, marzipan, and apple skins mingle with an almost falsely sweet aroma, like low-calorie sweetener.

Palate: Watermelon, cherry, and sour apple notes characterize the entry. The mid-palate is sweet – but not distressingly so – before it settles into a pleasant, somewhat metallic bitterness, like eating bread crust with an aluminum metal fork. Only in the long, tingly finish do I notice much in the way of canonical rye spice (cinnamon, clove, black pepper, etc.).

Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye has been Named World Whisky of the Year in Jim Murray’s 2016 Whisky Bible. In the annual publication’s 13 years, Northern Harvest Rye is the only Canadian product to achieve the first place ranking. Murray tasted more than 1,000 whisky’s before announcing his list.
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