Happy Belated Canada Day: Crown Royal XR Waterloo

Damn, I missed Canada Day. I always mean to do a Canadian Whisky review for Canada Day, and I always seem to miss it. Maybe it's just too close to July 4th to enter the American consciousness. Well, let's consider this a belated Canada Day post.

Crown Royal XR Waterloo. Crown Royal's XR (Extra-Rare) series are blends that include whiskies from closed Canadian distilleries. The Waterloo was the first edition of the XR and includes whisky from the Waterloo distillery in Ontario which was closed in 1992. Crown Royal just released the second edition, featuring whisky from the shuttered LaSalle distillery in Quebec.


Crown Royal XR Waterloo, 40% abv ($130-$180)

The nose immediately gives a nice rye spice, so much so that tasting blind, I would easily mistake this for a straight rye. It's got good vegetal aromas. The palate is syrupy sweet with rye undertones. If Monin made a rye syrup, for rye cafe mochas or something, this is what it would taste like. The rye continues into the finish. While a bit on the sweet side, the rye and the sweet notes play well together.

I don't think of Crown Royal expressions as having much in the way of rye, but this one clearly does. It's quite pleasant and definitely worth drinking. In fact, it's probably the best thing I've had from Crown Royal, though for the price, I'd be more likely to opt for one of the Canadian straight ryes, like WhistlePig or Masterson's, that cost half as much.

Happy (belated) Canada Day!