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| Type | Canadian whisky |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Diageo |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Introduced | 1939 |
| Proof | 80 |
| Variants | Limited Edition, Special Reserve, Cask No. 16, XR |
Crown Royal is a blended Canadian whisky, 40% alcohol by volume, 80 proof. The brand is currently owned by Diageo, who purchased it when the Seagram portfolio was dissolved in the year 2000.[1] It is the top-selling Canadian whisky in the United States.[2]
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History
The production of Crown Royal began in 1939 coincident with the first Royal Tour of Canada by reigning monarch King George VI and his wife Queen Elizabeth. To mark this historic occasion, Samuel Bronfman, President of the Seagram Company, decided to create a quality whisky to be packaged in a crown-shaped bottle and dressed in a distinctive royal purple bag. Like the packaging, the name chosen for the product was intended to reflect the quality of the spirit, a marketing concept that quickly caught consumer attention. It was available only in Canada until 1964.
Production
Today, Crown Royal is produced solely at the Crown Royal distillery at Gimli, on the shores of Lake Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Previously, it was produced in Waterloo, Ontario, prior to the closure in 1992 of the Waterloo plant. Daily production of Crown Royal uses 10,000 bushels of grain and requires 750,000 imperial gallons (3,400,000 L; 900,000 US gal) of water.[3] The whisky produced at the Manitoba distillery is stored in 2 million barrels, stored in 46 warehouses, over 5 acres (2 ha) of land. The whisky is then blended and bottled in Amherstburg, Ontario.[4][5][6][7]
2006 sales of Crown Royal amounted to over US $500M.
In January, 2007, production of Crown Royal was nearly interrupted as a result of a labour dispute at the Gimli distillery. Fifty-two of the 53 workers at the Manitoba distillery, members of United Food and Commercial Workers Canada Local 200D, voted on January 23 to strike as soon as February 1.[8] However, subsequent negotiations resulted in approval by nearly 75 percent of the workers, the night before the strike deadline, of a new three-year contract. [9]
Variations
Crown Royal Special Reserve was introduced in 1992. The finest young whiskies are chosen and aged for a longer period than the original. Once mature enough they are then blended to produce Special Reserve [10].
In 2006, Crown Royal XR (extra rare) was introduced in the US by allocation and the Canadian market (initially, only in Ontario and Alberta). Available in Québec since January 2008. This limited-release special blend of Crown Royal is sold in numbered bottles, and is made from the last batch of whiskey distilled at the Waterloo distillery. After mothballing in 1992, the Waterloo distillery burned down in 1993, with only a small amount of whisky being left behind [11]. It received a 7¼ and 7¾ from Whisky Magazine critics [12].
The latest variation, Crown Royal Cask No.16, was introduced late 2007. Made from over fifty blended and individually aged whiskies in 12 year old cognac barrels. These barrels are made of oak from the Limousin forest in France. The whiskies are designed to have a cognac type of finish with notes of rye, grain, and fruit [13].
As a point of comparison, in February 2007, a 750 mL bottle of Crown Royal could typically be purchased in the United States for around US$28; a 750 mL bottle of Special Reserve for $US50, a 750 mL bottle of Crown Royal Cask No.16 for US$100, and a 750 mL bottle of Crown Royal XR for US$200.
Ratings
Crown Royal offerings have generally performed well at international spirit ratings competitions. For example, the basic Canadian Whisky was awarded a string gold medal at the 2005-2007 San Francisco World Spirits Competitions. [14] The Special Reserve received an editors choice gold award from Whisky Magazine and received a 9½, 8¾, and 9¾ from three of the critics [15] [16].
Consumption
Crown Royal is often mixed with another, usually non-alcoholic, beverage for added flavour such as ginger ale, cola, and gatorade. Common names of these beverages include: Blacktooth Grin, Crown Sidecar, Crown & Soda, Crown & Coke, Crown Lemon-Lime, Crown Fizz, and Gatorsauce. A mixture made with Royal Crown Cola is called an RCCR (Royal Crown Crown Royal) or a Pair of Kings (Pair of Queens if served with a maraschino cherry). Another sort of mixed drink you can make with Crown Royal is to drop a shot of Crown into a glass of Red Bull energy drink, this is known as a Chili Bomb.
Advertising
Among its advertising venues, Crown Royal advertises in various motor sports events. Crown Royal sponsors the #26 Ford of Jamie McMurray, and the Crown Royal 400 race in NASCAR. Announced July 28th 2009, Crown Royal will be the primary sponsor of the #17 Ford Fusion of Matt Kenseth, who will run the Crown Royal paint scheme for 18 races in the 2010 season, as the #26 team hopefully will transfer intact to Yates Racing and obtain a new sponsor (in order to cut down Roush-Fenway Racing's teams from 5 to 4 to comply with NASCAR rules). From 2004 until 2006, Crown Royal was the title sponsor of the International Race of Champions. Also, in auto racing, Crown Royal Special Reserve is a sponsor of the Grand American Road Racing Association's Rolex Sports Car Series. Crown Royal was a primary sponsor of the Washington International Horse Show for severals years in the 1990s and since 1995 has sponsored the Crown Royal American Turf Stakes, a Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Churchill Downs.
In popular culture
- Singer Jill Scott pays homage to the beverage in her sexually layered song "Crown Royal".
- In the song "Burn It to the Ground" by Nickelback a line reads: "We got 'em lined up, shot down, firin' back straight Crown"
- Dimebag Darrell, the lead guitar player of the heavy metal band Pantera used it in the drink he created called the "Black Tooth Grin".
- Matt Snell, the bassist of the heavy metal band Five Finger Death Punch has stated that Crown Royal is one of his favorite drinks and that he collects Crown Royal bags.
- In the song "Sober" by Muse a line reads: "Royal Canadian blended, the spicy had aroma mended me"
See also
References
- ^ The Bronfmans: The Rise and Fall of the House of Seagram; Nicholas Faith; Thomas Dunne Books - May 30, 2006 - ISBN 0-312-33219-X
- ^ January/February 2001 CANADIAN WHISKY, Beverage Net SPIRITS BUSINESS. Retrieved January 4, 2008.
- ^ Crown Royal
- ^ "Crown Royal whisky is distilled in Gimli, but bottled further east, in Amherstburg, Ont. Wayne Hurst, mayor of the southwestern Ontario town - population 22,000, 25 kilometres south of Windsor - says the bottling plant plays an important role in the community. He, too, would like to leave a mark on millions of bottles of booze."
- ^ Business Edge News Magazine - businessedge.ca - Ontario Edition - Towns look to leave mark on booze bottles
- ^ "The Amherstburg plant blends and bottles the company's top-selling Crown Royal whisky for both domestic and international consumption."
- ^ Layoffs land at Diageo
- ^ UFCW Press Release. "Crisis Brewing at Crown Royal as Strike Deadline Looms at Distillery". Market Wire/CCN Matthews. http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release_html_b1?release_id=207366. Retrieved 2007-02-11. http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release_html_b1?release_id=207366
- ^ Sun Media. "Distillery workers OK pact, averting strike". Winnipeg Sun. http://www.winnipegsun.com/Business/2007/02/02/3506034-sun.html. Retrieved 2007-02-11.
- ^ About Special Reserve, CrownRoyal.com Special Reserve. Retrieved January 4, 2008.
- ^ About Crown Royal XR, CrownRoyal.com Crown Royal XR. Retrieved January 4, 2008.
- ^ Crown Royal XR Extra Rare, WhiskyMag.com Whiskies. Retrieved January 4, 2008.
- ^ About Cask No.16, CrownRoyal.com Crown Royal Cask 16. Retrieved January 4, 2008.
- ^ "Proof66.com Website". http://www.proof66.com/display.asp?frm=y&t=whiskey&sel=Canadian%20Whisky&att=&tab=ratings&varsort=aggScore_hl. Retrieved 2009-08-05.
- ^ Crown Royal Special Reserve, WhiskyMag.com Whiskies. Retrieved January 4, 2008.
- ^ Crown Royal SR Special Reserve, WhiskyMag.com Whiskies. Retrieved January 4, 2008.
External links
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