The Crown Royal Distilling Company Crown Royal XO NV 750ml

A rich luxurious whisky finished in cognac casks, as was the crisper, brighter Cask No. 16 that it replaces. This is the cedary, leathery, tobacco-ish sipping whisky of the private club. Simple toffee and the cherry essence of Beaujolais nouveau evolve into ripe red apples and heavy, dusky, dark fruit with candied citrus peel, bitter almond skins, and hints of oak. Sizzling gingery spice and white pepper linger over textured sandalwood. Defined by its heavy, creamy body.

Diageo North America introduced a new ultra-premium offering from Crown Royal Canadian whisky in January. Crown Royal XO is a blend of more than 50 whiskies that is finished in Cognac casks. Available nationwide, the 40 percent abv spirit has a balanced flavor with notes of vanilla, spice and rich dried fruit.

Deep topaz / terra cotta color; superb purity. Holy moly, I get elegant scents of cooking spices (sage, parsley) in the initial inhalations, then the aroma goes in the direction of malted malt balls, nut paste, black raisins. Entry is Crown Royal oaky rich, multilayered, generously sweet, supple; mid-palate features the oak component both in resiny and raisiny fashion. Aftertaste is proper, woody grainy, but predictably calculated to a certain audience. This carefully made whisky falls in line with all the other Crown Royal bottles, which are highly rated in the Spirit Journal. But what's lacking is sense of adventure or striking out to do something very different in this remarkable period experimentation. A well-made, four star, completely safe whiskey.