Whiskey_Hound
Crown Royal Bourbon Mash
Canadian — Canada
Reviewed
June 12, 2019 (edited June 28, 2019)
Apparently it's illegal for non-Americans to use the word "Bourbon" on their packaging, regardless of context. This one says "Bourbon Mash" (which is nothing but the truth) and "This is not a Bourbon Whiskey." Nevertheless, it's illegal. The good thing about this is that in their efforts to liquidate the remaining supply of these bottlings (its since been changed to Blenders' Mash), this one has seen some heavy price reduction-- plummeting from $35 to $17. This lone factor is what ultimately drove my purchase.
Nose: This one is a barn house. Green and musty. Corn, hay, sawdust, and wood. Maybe even a bit of manure in the background (I'm not kidding). Very bitter. Some cocoa and baking spices. Leather and apple. I worked on farms in high school, and while I can appreciate the aromas that come with the territory, the nose on this one fails to evoke any fond memories of my youth. It's more sawdust than anything else. Not the best.
Palate: Bland. Vanilla, caramel, and baking spices. Some of the cocoa from the noses. It's off. It's bitter where it feels it ought to be sweet. Sawdust and flour. When it's not bitter, it's neutral tasting, and there's nothing inspiring about it. Not horrible, but absolutely nothing to write home about.
Finish: Short. About right for an 80 proofer. It's all bitter oak off the bat. It takes a sharp turn into spicy cinnamon, but it's gone before you know it. Unsatisfying but fitting end to this one.
You get what you pay for. It's not always accurate, but it's generally a rule of thumb. And hey, it's a whisky. I can still drink it. That's about all I've got for this one. The only box it checks is price, and even then it'd be a stretch to call this a good value.
The moral of the story is, the word bourbon is off limits, no matter how you actually use it. And yet, their flub is the only reason I gave this one a shot. At $17, what the hell? I'll generously round this up to 2 stars. I don't regret the purchase, and that's about the best compliment I can conjure up for this one.
17.0
USD
per
Bottle
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@BeppeCovfefe @LeeEvolved Lol, both great points. Not that I expected anything to begin with, but man this just did not cut it. The bottle went quickly though, only because I needed something to bring out on the weekends that I didn't mind wasting
@PBMichiganWolverine - nah, mostly golf trips down to Myrtle Beach, SC. It’s gonna take something special to get me to the airport lol
@LeeEvolved wait...vacation? As in get on a plane? Have we conquered aerophobia?
Great review and I honestly believe you could cut and paste most, if not all, of your descriptors into every Crown Royal listing and be spot on. The stuff is bland and boring- I even tried the Rye after it won Best Whiskey in the World and laughed as soon as I popped the cork. I might buy a bottle of Crown when I go on vacation just because it makes a good Washington Apple shooter. Other than that, I avoid it and I give away what’s left after the trip.
I might say "moral of the story" canadians still don't know bourbon, well, rye has always been their wheelhouse, might as well keep it that way.
@PBMichiganWolverine Spot on. In some instances they price even higher than secondary!!
@dubz480 yeah, Flaviar bought them about a year ago I think. I once got a survey from Caskers asking how they can improve. I filled it out by “ offer cheaper than local market, and with a unique product line like local or regional whiskey, which is harder to get”.
@PBMichiganWolverine Ah I had no clue that they were owned by the same folks! Makes sense!
@dubz480 and...they’re owned by the same company. No surprise. I tried Flaviar for a few months some years back. Stopped my subscription after I caught on that the pictures show hard to get whiskey, but the reality was far different.
@PBMichiganWolverine that reminds me of a funny post I read yesterday. Someone was inquiring about Flaviar and if it's worth the money. In the midst of all the trashing of Flaviar someone came up with a gem of retort "Why would you pay for Flaviar when Caskers will rip you off for free!" 🤣
@Whiskey_Hound I actually saw it advertised on Caskers as “with this labeling error, it’s sure to become a highly sought after collector’s item”.
@PBMichiganWolverine It's kind of hard to argue your point. It is strange though, that they'd assume people would want to collect something like for the label. With the quality as poor as it is, the whole thing just doesn't make sense. Truly bizarre
@dubz480 I know it’s petty, but I purposely didn’t buy this, even if they were giving it for a nickel, since I figured it was just a veiled attempt to sell bad whiskey under the pretense of “ oh I forgot to run this by my huge Diageo legal department, and made a labeling mistake”.
@PBMichiganWolverine Diageo we're being naughty for sure! What's next a Crown "Scotch Blend" release in Scotland??
@Whiskey_Hound @dubz480 I actually thought they did the labeling on purpose to sell to collectors as “labeling mistake”. I find it hard to believe they wouldn’t know US regulations and laws. It’s their daily livelihood.
@Whiskey_Hound Sounds good brother! Cheers!
@dubz480 Thanks for the feedback! As you say, this one is drinkable. But I'd stop there. However, I've seen the Noble release and honestly, even without your recommendation to back it, I was intrigued by it enough to consider a purchase. And I probably will; it's just that there's so much I'd rather get through first. I think some time in the barrel might do this one well, and with your thumbs up, I'll keep that one on my list
Great Review! My local grocery store tried to get me to buy one for $15! Their downfall was they poured me a taste and I passed! That said it wasn't terrible, just not something I wanted to buy! if you haven't tried the 13 yr old Noble release it's actually quite good. Cheers!