Along with these traditional aromas are some new ones including dried fruit, iris flower, and ginger, all fairly common cognac/french oak related aromas. The nose on the XO has many of the traditional Crown Royal aromas including caramel, vanilla (which is a little more shortbread cookie here), and oak, but the oak notes are much deeper and stronger. Dark amber in color, Crown Royal XO has clearly picked up some additional color from its time in cognac barrels. At $50 a bottle, Crown Royal XO is double the price of last year’s Crown Royal Maple, but still half the price of the line’s super-premium series Crown Royal XR.Ĭrown Royal XO Canadian Whisky (40% ABV / 80 proof, $49.99) – while there’s no word on where the cognac barrels used to finish this release come from (or how long the whisky spends in those barrels), our best guess is that they come from Hennessy, which Diageo has a distribution relationship with. Crown Royal XO is another in a long line of recent releases from Diageo designed to push their workhorse products into ever-increasing premium spaces. Crown Royal XO is a blended Canadian whisky that’s finished in ex-cognac barrels. Rather than trying to duplicate Crown Royal Maple with another flavor like cinnamon, honey, peach, or caramel, Crown Royal has gone upscale with this year’s premium release. A major part of Crown Royal’s success last year was the release of Crown Royal Maple, a maple finished/flavored Canadian whisky that not only attracted brand loyalists to a higher priced offering, but also new customers to the brand (some of whom were most likely swapping in the flavored whisky for flavored vodka). Crown Royal moved a whopping 4.3 million cases in 2013 (according to Impact Databank) with double digit growth that outpaced even Johnnie Walker (source Shanken News).
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |