Review: Crown Royal Vanilla
Review: Crown Royal Vanilla
Crown Royal continues to experiment with flavored whiskies, its latest expression being a natural whisky fit: Vanilla. The product is described as “a blend of hand-selected Crown Royal whiskies infused with the rich flavor of Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla.”
If you like vanilla and you like Canadian whisky, well, you’ll love Crown Royal Vanilla, which is a “best of both worlds” experience. Mind you, it’s nothing you’ll be writing postcards about, but rather a vanilla-heavy experience that borders on marshmallow-sweet (and -flavored) at times. The heavy sugariness of the experience isn’t a deal-breaker, and given the intention of this whisky to be used as a mixer, not a sipper, it’ll fit right in with cola or another simple combo. (See below for more cocktail ideas.) Light mixed berry notes add a touch of complexity on the back end, along with some simple milk chocolate character and just the lightest hint of woody barrel char — but by and large this is a showcase for sweet vanilla syrup from start to finish. That’s not a bad thing, I suppose. All told, this is nothing that will blow your mind, but there’s nothing not to like here, either.
70 proof.
B / $26 / crownroyal.com [BUY IT NOW FROM CASKERS] [BUY IT NOW FROM TOTAL WINE] [BUY IT NOW FROM FROOTBAT]
Below please find some recipes that Crown Royal suggests, in partnership with Hella Company and Cocktail Courier (which will deliver all the ingredients you need to make both of these in one kit). They’re both quite pungent, so feel free to work with the proportions liberally.
Crown Vanilla and Hella Cola
1.5 oz. Crown Royal Vanilla
1 oz. Hella Cola cocktail syrup
3.5 oz. club soda
whole vanilla bean*
Mix in a highball glass filled with ice. Use vanilla bean as a stirrer and leave bean in glass as if a straw. Garnish with an unsqueezed lime wedge if desired.
* yes, they mean a pod, not a whole bean
Vanilla Old Fashioned
1.5 oz. Crown Royal Vanilla
0.5 oz Woods Boiled Cider
3 dashes Hella Orange Bitters
In a double rocks glass add all ingredients, then add ice to above the level of liquid. Stir for 10 seconds. Garnish with thick orange peel if desired.
Crown Royal Vanilla Canadian Whisky
$26
Why, CR?
You released the lovely Hand Selected a couple of years ago (your best, IMHO), and followed that with the Northern Rye (…someone’s whiskey of the year….I think), and THIS year we get this (well, I suppose Cornerstone should be mentioned….but I wouldn’t broach that bottle).
Come on, CR, you’ve been in business for…over 70 years and surely have some more Hand-Selected-type releases in store!
Would you please email me back with the number of grams of sugar in your Crown Royal with Vanilla Whiskeyl
Would like to try this, but need to know the grams of sugar in an ounce. Thank you, Juice
Crown Royal Vanilla has 2.9 grams of sugar per ounce. Hope that helps.