My friends know me as a Crown Royal junkie from way back. Being on the US-Canadian border, I've loved this fine whiskey since before it was cool. Although I generally eschew something when it becomes popular, I've stayed loyal to CR due to the fact that I just plain LIKE it. My good friend Gary, aka Ironpeddler, knows of my lust for CR and when he got his hands on a bottle of the new just-to-be-released "Black" version (thanks to another fine BOTL, Seth "srnadel" of Shopper's Vineyard fame) he knew that there was no one else in his ever expanding circle of compatriots who would appreciate it more than me. :whistling: So... when the box containing this interesting whiskey turned up on my doorstep I knew just what to do with it.
The box is black, the label is black and even the ubiquitous velvet bag is black...the whiskey itself isn't quite black but it's pretty darn close. More like black coffee in color, but definitely different from it's more amber colored older brother. According to Seth's website, it retails for about 30 bucks a bottle so the price is pretty reasonable. My smeller doesn't work so good anymore so I can't say if the bouquet was any different. The taste, however, is. The maker touts it as a more robust and full-bodied whiskey with a higher proof (90 versus 80). It's all that and more. I'm not here to talk about fancy flavors and such. I'll leave that to the so-called whiskey experts. What I will say is that if you like regular old CR then you'll probably love CR Black. It's got enough kick to let you know it's not the other stuff and the flavor is deeper and richer. If your tastes run to other liquors..well, then I guess it won't thrill you. Me, though, it thrilled! Nuff said.
Thanks again Gary.. and thanks to you as well, Seth! You both made an old commoner very happy, if not just a wee bit tipsy! :thumbs:
