Crown Royal Deluxe

On the nose: hand sanitizer, perfume, and toffee. On the palette, it’s thin and sweet. Almost artificial sweetener sweet. With alcohol vapors and a stale maple syrup finish.

Coming back to this for the first time after starting my journey into understanding whiskey gave me a newfound appreciation for Crown. Rather than hate this as something cheap and universally available, I found this to be pleasant but simple. I recall hating this much more when I was younger and would take shots of it at a bar. However, tonight, I discovered a 2/3 empty bottle of Crown Royal in the back of my cooking cabinet, and curiosity got the better of me. Coming from drinking cask strength bourbons on a regular basis, this had no burn whatsoever. Exceptionally smooth, with a juicy burst of white grape and pinot grigio. A discernible rye spice on the finish that surprised me. Reminiscent of juicier, watered down, MGP Rye. I rarely drink 80 proof whiskey, but tonight's taste piqued my interest enough to have me pull out one of the few in my collection: standard, 4-year, Templeton Rye. Surprisingly, the crown had noticeable similarities, though obviously less spicy. I do wonder if regular crown tastes like this, or if sitting 2/3 full for years in the back of a cabinet helped It improve