Crown Royal's popularity seemingly knows no bounds, especially in North America. You'll be hard-pressed to find a back bar anywhere, from fine steakhouse to neighbourhood Chinese takeaway, that doesn't feature the distinctive bottle.
But as tastes have changed, the smooth and sweet whisky in the famous purple bag has been slowly losing market share. It now lines up next to increasingly premium releases but it was back in 2010 when the first big nod to flavour emerged for Manitoba's most famous export.
Crown Royal Black, though far from a premium whisky, was designed to target the loud, oaky flavours of American rye and many bourbons. Like these American whiskies aged, by law, in charred new American oak casks, Crown Black is aged mainly in barrels with heavy char. It is also bottled at a meaningfully elevated 45%.
These factors combine to bring what the label calls 'robust and full bodied' flavours. That description is apt; this bottle packs in as much flavour as its famous sibling Northern Harvest, if not more. It all comes at a price not much higher than the standard Crown bottling, which represents tremendous value for the amount of flavour and elevated strength. It will surely divide opinion, as whisky this big must necessarily do, but it promises a full-on experience for any drinker.
Crown Royal Black
45% alc./vol.
$35 at LCBO
On the nose, sweet notes take the lead with vanilla, toffee, and lots of molasses-like cola. But there is plenty of spice too, with a crackling black pepper that rides above a dry hay note.
The palate continues with the big sweet and spicy profile, carried on a rich, oily body. There is immediately brittle, hot rye spice with an undercurrent of cola as well as a creamy butterscotch that is complimented well by the full mouthfeel. The flavours are integrated and it remains sippable, in spite of the heat.
On the finish, things turn up in a big way! White hot rye first punches and then barehandedly slaps you across the face in lavalike waves. That second wave is bone-dry, like licking a burning barrel. An absolute scorcher, the Prairie rye comes across like a much more ornery Alberta Springs 10 year. As the blaze calms down a little, sweet dried apple moves in to quell the fire, though warmth lingers on and on. As things fade, though, an unfortunate overripe grapefruit bitterness builds. That rancio note is a distraction that can only be corrected by another fiery sip.
Wow, lots to unpack after a taste of this. By design, the flavours are untamed; they eventually blow past the creamy body and explode into a supernova of heat on the finish. Although the flavours are big from top to bottom, the rye burst on the finish will divide drinkers more than any other aspect.
If you particularly enjoy spicy rye, like me, you'll find as much as you can handle and then some. If you're looking for subtlety, this was never the whisky for you. I quite enjoy the rye explosion, personally, and think it's right on target for this blend. But where the finish will let just about everyone down is the lingering bitter offnote that closes out. If Crown Royal could find a way to blend that out, this rye could be in Northern Harvest territory as one of the greats.
Still, I'm very pleased with this purchase. The price point is simply fantastic for the elevated abv and unchained flavour. If you like the sweet, creamy aspect of Crown Royal but want something more interesting, Black dials up the flavour to 110 without sacrificing the mouthfeel. For American rye and bourbon drinkers drawn to the loud flavours of charred new oak, this is the Crown for you - and at a fraction of the cost of many American whiskies.
In sum, this bottle won't be everyone's favourite, but it will replace the purple bag as the go-to for millions who now crave bigger flavour. The offnote brings down the score but this is still a most intriguing, exciting, explosive whisky that will be a staple on my bar.
Score: 84
Category Score: 92
Characteristic: Spicy
