Crown Royal Deluxe

It's a divisive whisky. The hoi polloi love it (my mom refers to it as "the good stuff") and the whisky snobs deem it absolute garbage. The truth probably lies somewhere between. It's not what I'd consider a great whisky, but it's far from the worst. It aims for what I'd call a kind of "bourbon-lite" taste profile--a lot of bourbon-y notes of vanilla and wood without the aggressiveness of a lot of American whiskeys--something palatable for a mainstream audience. And it achieves that, but in leaving out that intensity, it also makes a lot of enemies. Flavours of big vanilla, butterscotch, maple syrup. Gravel or pebbles. Varnish? Ever-so-slight dusty rye and baking spices. Citrus pith. Some bitter woodiness. Would never seek it out, but you can bet your ass I'd never turn it down, either.