Crown Royal Black

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

Wayne Gretzky Red Cask

Amidst the vines and pastoral vistas of Niagara-on-the-Lake sits a new distillery that has really made a name for itself. Or rather, has been bestowed a name befitting it's aspirations of greatness. A collaboration between the Great One himself and Niagara wine tycoon Andrew Peller, Wayne Gretzky Distillery shows what a startup can be with massive financial backing. 

The sister to the successful Gretzky wine brand, this distillery quickly became a buzzy tourist attraction with an outdoor rink in the vineyard and year-round outdoor whisky bar. During my time living in Niagara, I could often be found with my skates and a half finished bottle of rye at the bus stop outside the distillery. Now, there is also a brewery as part of the trifecta of alcoholic pleasures to be found onsite. It's truly a fantastic addition to an incredible part of Ontario and we'll worth a visit. 

Though Gretzky himself is involved more in name than in day to day operations, the whiskies take his story into account. The grain, for example, is sourced from near his hometown of Brantford, Ontario. 

The base offering is Red Cask which features malted and unmalted rye as well as corn. The distillates are aged three years in ex-Bourbon casks and finished in red wine casks from Gretzky's wine brand. The aging process is undertaken at the massive Peller facility in Grimsby, visible from the Queen Elizabeth Way when driving into Niagara Region. Other Gretzky whiskies include an Icewine finish and "99 Proof," a gimmicky but really good bottling. They also put out a whisky cream that is, I must say, the best of any I've tried anywhere. 

^The gleaming column still at Wayne Gretzky Distillery

Wayne Gretzky No.99 Red Cask

40% alc./vol.

$40 at The Wine Shop

On the nose, a bright honey sweetness opens. There is a definite heat, reminiscent of young spirit, but not overwhelmingly so. Slight spice and a subtle tart berry note take over, no doubt the wine cask showing its hand. Some dry grain notes and light powdered sugar sweetness follow; the effect is quite strongly reminiscent of Cheerios.  

The palate brings an orderly, if slightly belligerent, procession of caramel, bitter grapefruit, and rye spice. By belligerent, I mean the youthful heat and intensity has not been tamed very much by time spent in oak. That can be a positive or negative depending on your personal tastes. 

After the caramel, there is a wholesale transition to the bitter citrus pith. Next, a sharp whack of spice; a clean, grainy heat I find common in lots of column still rye. The heat is intense but quite welcome, offset by an oily viscosity. Earthy, dark bread and lots of grain tag off with the flaming rye. Tart cranberry flies just under the heat for those who can tease it out.

That spike of rye and a resumption of the bitter note constitute the medium length finish.There is some more berry and tannic oak - more of the wine cask - but even as these fade, a rising smoky note takes over. The finish is actually quite nice and, I'd say, the biggest strength of this bottle.

This is definitely young whisky, more raw than refined. But sometimes that's a good thing; personally I welcome that vivacity in winter sipping. This dram lurches more than slides from the sweet corn portion into the hot rye but there's no dearth of flavour. Definitely an eye-opener and something I'd love in coffee.

So, though it may not be refined, it's definitely interesting. At $40, Red Cask starts to invite some competition from some good Canadian bottles. Niagara neighbour Forty Creek's Double Barrel Select is similarly priced but more polished. However, it doesn't punch nearly as hard with the rye spice, which is what some whisky drinkers look for. Gretzky's higher-end bottlings (which we will be reviewing in the near future) tend to better contain the flavour swings. And though I think more care went into the crafting of this whisky, the flavour profile compares with Liquormen's Ol' Dirty, and not just because of similar celebrity collaborations. The rye in this bottle is more complex and the finish is superior, though the cost is also higher.

Along with the other Gretzky whiskies, this whisky seems priced a little higher than what it ought to be, no doubt because of the celebrity name. I'm sure sales figures are exceptional on strength of brand, but I find this bottle and its siblings to be rare instances of poor value in Canadian whisky.

Still, sometimes you want an assertive whisky, and Red Cask delivers with big caramel and big heat alike. Though precocious, the full-on flavours of this whisky will appeal to those who don't care much for subtlety, and it will do well as a mixer. And of course, it comes from perhaps the best distillery to visit anywhere.

Heatseeker Score: 82

Category Score: 79

Characteristic: Hot

Alberta Springs

Alberta Distillers, in Calgary, produce some of the absolute most and least affordable whiskies in North America. Specialising in the difficult rye grain production process, whisky made here has gone to feature in Canadian staple value brands just as often as super premium American brands.

Though they've been frequently criticised for obscuring it, a good deal of Whistlepig's popular 'Vermont farm whiskies' are bottlings of Alberta rye. Other expensive and awarded American rye whiskey (with a conspicuous e) is actually produced here, such as Masterson's 10 year old.

The Alberta Springs bottling is another ten year bottling from this distillery, probably coming from casks that spent the decade next to those used by Masterson's, Whistlepig, and others. However, like it's cousin Alberta Premium, Alberta Springs remains one of the most affordable bottles available domestically. Like Highwood's Centennial, those who know how good this whisky is must feel almost guilty about how affordable it is. Its just another example of an extremely enjoyable Alberta whisky being sold domestically for peanuts.

To see it on the shelf, it can be easy to pass by what may seem another cheap, mixing whisky. That would be a huge mistake, however, as Alberta Springs is a complex, spicy rye that could easily be sold for three times as much with a different label. 

Originally, this bottling was single rye, like most of what comes out of this distillery, but there has since been small additions of corn, which is more efficient to distill, in order to keep costs down. Still, the profile is all Alberta rye, full of hot, fresh spice.  

This is unabashedly rye for rye lovers and a pure taste of the Alberta distillery style. It demands to be sipped, not just because of its overwhelming heat but because of its ten years of complexity. 

Alberta Springs Aged 10 Years

40% alc./vol.

$20-$27 across Western Canada

Lots of oak on the nose, dusty and hot in the Alberta Distillers style. There's a hint of butterscotch to temper this just a bit. Clove, cardamon, and some green apple round out the typical rye forward, western aromas. A really nice, complex nose that makes you immediately crave a sip.

On the palate, more of the same with dry, spicy rye leading throughout. Caramel and brown sugar sweetness is tempered by the blistering heat of the rye. That comes as cinnamon and acrolein - think mustard powder and a dollop of ginger. It's also present as super tart red currant, which makes your mouth water and contributes to the moreishness of this dram. There are some vegetal and earthy notes late, though the relative lightness of the palate means these are fleeting. 

The finish sweeps in with a flash of tannic, drying rye spice. It's like licking the inside of a well-charred barrel. There's a touch of the saccharine corn influence but it's very much about the rye here. Dusty and hot, and with a medium length, it eventually yields to just the slightest caramel sweetness, ginger, slight bitter lemon, and a vegetal note I'd describe as cucumber. Still, that dryness is leaving me desperately wanting another sip. 

Wow, all this in a bottom-shelf bottle?! Even among the greatly underpriced whiskies from this distillery, Alberta Springs is an absolute steal. All that seems to separate this whisky from the Whistlepigs and Masterson's of the world is a richer mouthfeel that allows the flavours in those bittles to shine a bit more. Well, that and a couple hundred dollars (and a healthy dose of misleading advertising, in Whistlepig's case).

For those who like a sweet or gentle whisky, stay away. Probably best avoid Alberta Distillers alltogether, but for lovers of the rye grain in its dusty, spicy form, no other distillery has yet come close. The combination of the dryness of the Calgary climate, the stills, the cask selection, and the blending skill evident lead to a house style that many have fallen for head over heals, even if they aren't aware they're drinking Alberta product. Bone-dry and flaming hot, this whisky packs ten years of complexity into an absurdly cheap bottle. 

If the price of this bottle was doubled, it would still be good value, but as it stands, no other bottle can touch this. More aggresively rye-forward than many of its peers, this is a gem of a sipper disguised as a bottom shelf mixer. Pair it with aged cheese, sip it slowly, or just throw it in with ginger ale because for the price, you might as well. A true Alberta rye and a true steal at the bottle shop, this is a whisky you can't afford to ignore. 

Heatseeker Score: 87

Category Score: 96

Characteristic: Spicy

We're reviewing five different ryes produced at Alberta Distillers as part of a series. We invite you to check out the reviews and find your favourite.

Canadian Club 100% Rye

Snake River Stampede 8 year

Alberta Premium (standard bottling)
Alberta Premium Cask Strength