Crown Royal Texas Mesquite 40%

Crown-Royal-Texas-Mesquite-2

Sweet up front with vanilla, toffee and an instantly recognizable mesquite smoke undercurrent, just like in great barbecue. Over time it develops spicy barrel notes supported by clean dry oak and typical Crown Royal creaminess. Medium weight in the body. A fun whisky, well done. ★★★★

What fun! The perfect combination of what summer loves best: Crown Royal and Barbecue. Crown Royal is Canada's best selling whisky by far, and nowhere is it more loved than in Texas.

To keep up with demand Crown Royal keeps 1.6 million barrels of it maturing in Gimli, Manitoba, and another 775,000 barrels in warehouses in Valleyfield, Quebec. They developed this phenomenal popularity over a period of decades, by taking every element of their whisky very, very seriously. However, when you are this popular you can afford not to take yourself too seriously all the time.

And that's what Crown Royal Texas Mesquite is all about. It's a guitar-pickin', tailgatin', sunburnin' week-end-fun whisky. Are you really passionate about your Crown Royal? May I suggest Hand Selected Barrel? On the other hand, just want to jam and session under a Texas-like sun? Then this sweet smoky whisky is your dram.

The current trend to smoke-finished cocktails comes quickly to mind. A bartender places your drink under a bell jar, then with dash and flair inserts a smouldering piece of something. When the jar fills with smoke, your cocktail is ready. Well made, these can be as enjoyable to sip as they were to watch prepared.

The Crown Royal blending team is renowned as the best in the world. They focus on whisky but their methods and style have had enormous influence on some of the biggest names in Cognac, rum and other blended spirits. And so, true to form, they have produced a smoke-infused whisky with balance and depth.

They began with the flagship Crown Royal Deluxe and simply infused it with mesquite smoke, maintaining the strength at 40% abv (80 proof.) The trick was knowing when to stop to keep the smoke from overwhelming the whisky, and that they did with aplomb.

The result is an almost cocktail-like dram, with the smokiness balanced by vanilla and toffee. A bit two-dimensional at first, after a bit of savouring some spiciness and hints of clean dry wood emerge.Crown Royal Texas Mesquite is available for the summer of 2018 only, and only in Texas and a few select markets.$24.99

★★★★

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