Crown Royal, originally known as Seagram's Crown Royal, is a blended

Canadian whisky Canadian whisky is a type of whisky produced in Canada. Most Canadian whiskies are Blended whiskey, blended multi-grain liquors containing a large percentage of corn spirits and are typically lighter and smoother than other whisky styles.

brand created by

Seagram The Seagram Company Ltd. (which trade name, traded as Seagram's) was a Canadian multinational beverage and during the last few years of its existence, entertainment Conglomerate (company), conglomerate formerly headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. ...

and owned by

Diageo Diageo plc ( ) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic beverage company, with its headquarters in London, England. It is a major distributor of Scotch whisky and other spirits and operates from 132 sites around the world ...

since 2000. Production of Crown Royal is done at Gimli,

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

, while the blending and bottling of the whisky are done in a facility in

Amherstburg Amherstburg is a town near the mouth of the Detroit River in Essex County, Ontario, Canada. In 1796, Fort Malden was established here, stimulating growth in the settlement. The fort has been designated as a National Historic Site. The town ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. The whisky was introduced in 1939 by Samuel Bronfman for the

1939 royal tour of Canada King George VI and Queen Elizabeth made their visit to Canada from 17 May to 15 June 1939. Taking place in the months leading up to the Second World War, the tour was undertaken to strengthen trans-Atlantic support for the United Kingdom in an ...

. The whisky was sold exclusively in Canada until the 1960s, when it was first introduced to international markets. It is the top-selling brand of Canadian whisky in the United States.

Origins

Crown Royal was introduced in 1939 by Samuel Bronfman, president of

, as a tribute to the

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of In ...

and his wife,

Queen Elizabeth Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elisabeth or Elizabeth the Queen may refer to: Queens regnant * Elizabeth I (1533–1603; ), Queen of England and Ireland * Elizabeth II (1926–2022; ), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms * Queen B ...

, the first visit of a reigning

monarch A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest ...

to Canada. It was available only in Canada until 1964, being introduced to the United States in the 1960s.

Production

Crown Royal is produced solely at the company's

distillery Distillation, also classical distillation, is the process of separating the component substances of a liquid mixture of two or more chemically discrete substances; the separation process is realized by way of the selective boiling of the mixt ...

at Gimli, on the shores of

Lake Winnipeg Lake Winnipeg () is a very large, relatively shallow lake in North America, in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Its southern end is about north of the city of Winnipeg. Lake Winnipeg is Canada's sixth-largest freshwater lake and the third- ...

, Canada. The production of Crown Royal uses 10,000

bushel A bushel (abbreviation: bsh. or bu.) is an Imperial unit, imperial and United States customary units, US customary unit of volume, based upon an earlier measure of dry capacity. The old bushel was used mostly for agriculture, agricultural pr ...

s of

rye Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is grown principally in an area from Eastern and Northern Europe into Russia. It is much more tolerant of cold weather and poor soil than o ...

maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...

and

barley Barley (), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains; it was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BC, giving it nonshattering spikele ...

daily, which is sourced from Manitoba and surrounding provinces, and requires of water naturally filtered through the limestone beneath the lake. The whisky is stored in 1.7 million

barrel A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden stave (wood), staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers ...

s, located in 56 warehouses over of land. It is then blended and bottled in

. Crown Royal was also produced at the Waterloo distillery in Ontario and the LaSalle distillery in Montreal, until they were closed in early 1990's.

Current products

*''Crown Royal'' was introduced in 1939 and is the original version of the brand. It was available only in Canada until 1964. Crown Royal comes in a purple felt-like bag with a gold tasseled drawstring. *''Crown Royal Reserve'' was introduced in 1992. The whiskies are aged for a longer period than the original. Crown Royal Reserve comes in a tan, velvet-like bag with coarse gold drawstrings. *''Crown Royal Black'' was introduced in 2010, and is a darker, higher alcohol (90 proof) whisky. Comes in a black felt-like bag. *''Crown Royal XO'' was introduced in January 2014. It is a blend of 50 whiskies that is then finished in Cognac casks from the French Limousin forest. It is packaged in a bag with grey and gold embroidery accents. *''Crown Royal Regal Apple'' was introduced in November 2014. It is a blend of Crown Royal with apple flavour. Sold in a green felt-like bag. *''Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye'' was introduced in May 2015, and is packaged in an off-white felt-like bag. *''Crown Royal Vanilla'' was introduced in 2016 and comes in a tan felt-like bag. *''Crown Royal Salted Caramel'' Comes in a burnt-orange felt-like bag. (winter seasonal) *''Crown Royal Peach'' was introduced in early 2019 and comes in a peach felt-like bag. *''Crown Royal Blackberry'' was introduced in early 2024 and comes in a dark purple bag with red accents. *''Crown Royal Single Malt Whisky'' was introduced in June 2024 as their first single malt whisky ever.

Discontinued variations

*''Crown Royal XR (Red)'' The first edition of Crown Royal XR contained the final batch of aged whiskies from the Waterloo distillery and is a very rare find – no longer in production. *''Crown Royal XR (Extra Rare)'' was introduced in 2006. This limited-release version was sold in numbered bottles and was originally made from the last batches of whiskey distilled at the now-closed Waterloo, Ontario, distillery; it now features whisky from the also now-closed Lasalle, Quebec, distillery. It received a 7¼ and 7¾ from ''Whisky Magazine'' critics. The LaSalle-based ''Crown Royal XR'' features a blue colour scheme to distinguish it from the red scheme of the original Waterloo-based version. *''Crown Royal Cask No. 16'' was introduced late 2007. It was made from over fifty blended and individually aged whiskies in 12-year-old cognac barrels. These barrels were made of oak from the

Limousin Limousin (; ) is a former administrative region of southwest-central France. Named after the old province of Limousin, the administrative region was founded in 1960. It comprised three departments: Corrèze, Creuse, and Haute-Vienne. On 1 Jan ...

forest in France. The whiskies were designed to have a cognac type of finish with notes of rye, grain, and fruit. Cask No. 16 comes in a black felt-like bag embroidered with the logo and name "CASK No 16". This blend was discontinued in late 2012. *''Crown Royal Monarch 75th Anniversary Blend'' was created in 2014 to commemorate the 1939 royal visit that inspired the brand and was prepared as a gift for the royal family. *''Crown Royal Hand Selected Barrel'' was introduced in May 2015, and is a single barrel rye that is produced from the brand's Coffey rye still, the only one of its kind in North America. Selected retailers will be able to purchase an entire cask to dispense to their customers. *''Crown Royal Texas Mesquite'' was introduced in 2018 and came in a blue felt-like bag. *''Crown Royal Honey'' was introduced in 2016. *''Crown Royal Maple Finished''

Ratings

Crown Royal offerings have generally performed well at international

spirit ratings With a growing number of offerings, such as those produced by an increasing number of microdistilleries, various mechanisms have arisen to provide reviews and opinions of individual varieties of spirits. These events generally use expert panels ...

competitions. For example, the basic Canadian whisky was awarded a string of five gold medals at the San Francisco World Spirits Competitions between 2005 and 2012. The Special Reserve received an editors choice gold award from ''Whisky Magazine'' and received ratings from 7¾ to 8¾ from three of the critics. Jim Murray's "Whisky Bible" named Crown Royal's Northern Harvest Rye as the World Whisky of the Year for 2016.

Advertising

Crown Royal advertises in motor sports, horse shows, and horse racing. It sponsored the No. 17 Ford Fusion of

Matt Kenseth Matthew Roy Kenseth (born March 10, 1972) is an American former professional stock car racing driver and the current competition advisor for Legacy Motor Club in the NASCAR Cup Series. Most recently, he raced part-time in the Superstar Racing Exper ...

from 2010 to 2011 and the No. 26 Ford Fusion of Jamie McMurray from 2006 to 2009. It has sponsored

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

Sprint Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...

races since 2006. From 2004 until 2006, Crown Royal was the title sponsor of the

International Race of Champions International Race of Champions (IROC) was a North American auto racing competition, created by Les Richter, Roger Penske and Mike Phelps, promoted as an American-motorsports equivalent of an all-star game. Despite its name, IROC was primarily ...

. Crown Royal is a sponsor of the

Grand American Road Racing Association Grand-Am Road Racing or Grand-Am was an auto racing sanctioning body that was established in 1999 to organize road racing competitions in North America. Its primary focus was the Rolex Sports Car Series, an Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance ...

Rolex Sports Car Series The Rolex Sports Car Series was the premier series run by the Grand American Road Racing Association. It was a North American-based sports car series founded in 2000 under the name Grand American Road Racing Championship to replace the failed ...

. In 2010, it also began sponsoring the #60

Daytona Prototype A Daytona Prototype was a type of sports prototype racing car developed specifically for the Grand-Am Road Racing, Grand American Road Racing Association's Rolex Sports Car Series as their top class of car, which replaced their main prototype rac ...

car of Michael Shank Racing in the

. The brand was a primary sponsor of the Washington International Horse Show for several years in the 1990s and from 1995 to 2008 sponsored the Crown Royal American Turf Stakes, a

Thoroughbred horse race Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing in ...

run at

Churchill Downs Churchill Downs is a horse racing complex in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States that hosts the annual Kentucky Derby. It opened in 1875 and was named for Samuel Churchill, whose family was prominent in Kentucky for many years. The first ...

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby () is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is run by three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of . Colt (horse), Colts and geldin ...

Day.

References

External links

Crown Royal U.S. Web Site

Crown Royal Canadian Web Site
{{Diageo plc Diageo brands Seagram Canadian whisky Products introduced in 1939 Canadian alcoholic drinks Alcohol in Manitoba Cuisine of Manitoba Gimli, Manitoba Companies based in Manitoba