This is another review I did as part of the Reddit whiskey network series of community reviews. This particular review was for /r/worldwhisky.
Every year whisky critic Jim Murray releases a “Whisky Bible” in which he will name a “World Whisky of the Year”. Despite the fact that his picks are sometimes mocked in the educated enthusiast community, it doesn’t seem to matter much because a recommendation from him will skyrocket sales. For his 2015 edition he bestowed this honor on Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye and true to form it instantly started flying off the shelves (especially in Canada). Like many others, I suspected this whisky to be his craziest selection yet but I hadn’t actually tried it so I reserved at least a little judgement. Earlier last year I tried a cask strength single barrel of Crown Royal that was enjoyable. It was nothing groundbreaking but it was a nice combo of proof, spice, and sweet. My hope was that this was something more similar to that than to the standard Crown Royal product which I gave up a long time ago in favor of better things.
No age statement; $18 for 375ml; Thanks to /u/dannyg483 for the photo and samples.
Nose: The nose is thin with with a lot of the flavor being masked by solvent alcohol. Underneath the ethanol there is some sweet banana. Overall, it smells really immature and I would liken this to a young American craft whiskey.
Taste: A lot like the taste. There is less ethanol dominance with some sweet banana taffy, apple, and rye bread flavors coming through. It’s really lacking on rye spice except in the finish which has some slight spiciness, raw alcohol burn, and more banana. Overall, it’s really muted.
Thoughts: It’s drinkable but not much beyond that. I’ve had 2 year old craft whiskeys that are way better than this.
Rating: 65/100
Value: I don’t factor factor price into my ratings but this is a rip off even it were half the price.
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