The smell is almost like a parody of Canada: the maple syrup is upfront and center in full display unabashedly stealing the show. To be sure there is also vanilla, toffee and wood. More interestingly there is indeed a grape smell to it. I wasn't expecting that. Last I drank it I could only taste the sweetness. Granted that was way before I refined my palate but I definitely didn't recall any fruity smells. There is also a citrus aroma lingering around along with some rye in the background. But it smells extremely sweet. That has to be emphasized. Once tasted the maple, vanilla and toffee dominate the palate. This tastes very sweet albeit in a very artificial but tolerable manner. It's very inoffensive. In the background there is the grape taste while interestingly on the palate I couldn't pick up any of the citrus from the aroma. From the mid palate you can get a taste of the wood but it's very nondescript. Like a weak oak flavor but it's very tucked away. But there's something unusual going on here as well. There's this taste of young rye that adds this weird sour note starting from the mid-palate and that persists into the end. I know it's a blend of various mashes but I do have to question just how young some of them are. Perhaps this would be better served if more mature grains were used. It does give it a nice rye kick but at the cost of some undue bitterness and sourness that doesn't mesh well with the front palate. The finish isn't bad and to be quite frank, this is so light I wasn't expecting it to have one. You get more of the maple but it tastes less sweet and artificial, then the grape notes finally come into their own and they're surprisingly pleasant and linger for quite a while complementing the wood flavors at the finish quite nicely. There is also a bit of rye hiding in the background that makes the finish pleasant. Anyone who has tried Crown Royal will tell you how incredibly smooth it is and how it's texture is almost like water. These claims are both true: it's thin and watery and the artificial sweetness makes this a very easy whiskey to sip. Matter of fact, I'd recommend this to anyone wanting to start getting into Whiskeys but put off by the more potent flavors the category has to offer. It's what got me into Whiskey in the first place and I'd be remiss not to recommend it as a decent starting place. Ultimately Crown Royal is a very generic, somewhat artificial tasting Whiskey that doesn't have a ton to offer. It's decidedly on the bland side of the equation and won't be impressing anyone with it's depth. The grape notes are it's most interesting feature (I cannot recall any other Whiskey with this taste or feature!) but realistically people drink this because it's smooth, sweet and accessible. I would keep it on hand, even knowing there are much more complex options out there. Sometimes you just want something sweet and simple to sip on and Crown Royal is unironically the king of easy, mindless sippers and party pleasing.