Crown Royal

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For the 2001 album by Run DMC, see Crown Royal (album).
Crown Royal
The distinctive bottle, box and purple velvet bag of Crown Royal.
Type Canadian whisky
Proof 80
Manufacturer Diageo
Country of origin Canada
Introduced 1939
Variants Limited Edition, Special Reserve, Cask No. 16, XR

Crown Royal is a blended Canadian whisky, 40% alcohol by volume, 80 proof. The brand is currently owned by Diageo, who purchased it when the Seagram portfolio was dissolved in the year 2000.[1] It is the top-selling Canadian whisky in the United States.[2]

Contents

[edit] History

The production of Crown Royal began in 1939 coincident with the first Royal Tour of Canada by reigning monarch King George VI and his wife Queen Elizabeth. To mark this historic occasion, Samuel Bronfman, President of the Seagram Company, decided to create a quality whisky to be packaged in a crown-shaped bottle and dressed in a distinctive royal purple bag. Like the packaging, the name chosen for the product was intended to reflect the quality of the spirit, a marketing concept that quickly caught consumer attention. It was available only in Canada until 1964.

[edit] Production

Today, Crown Royal is produced solely at the Crown Royal distillery at Gimli, on the shores of Lake Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Previously, it was produced in Waterloo, Ontario, prior the closure in 1992 of the Waterloo plant. Daily production of Crown Royal uses 10,000 bushels of grain and requires 750,000 Imperial gallons (3,400,000 L/900,000 US gal) of water.[3] The whisky produced at the Manitoba distillery is stored in 2 million barrels, stored in 46 warehouses, over 5 acres (2 ha) of land. The whisky is then blended and bottled in Amherstburg, Ontario.[4][5][6][7]

2006 sales of Crown Royal amounted to over US $500M.

In January, 2007, production of Crown Royal was nearly interrupted as a result of a labour dispute at the Gimli distillery. Fifty-two of the fifty-three workers at the Manitoba distillery, members of United Food and Commercial Workers Canada Local 200D, voted on January 23rd to strike as soon as February 1st.[8] However, subsequent negotiations resulted in approval by nearly 75% of the workers, the night before the strike deadline, of a new three-year contract. [9]

[edit] Variations

Crown Royal Special Reserve was introduced in 1992. The finest young whiskies are chosen and aged for a longer period than the original. Once mature enough they are then blended to produce Special Reserve [10]. It received an editors choice gold award from Whisky Magazine. It also received a 7½, 7¾, and 8¾ from three of the critics [11] [12].

In 2006, Crown Royal XR (extra rare) was introduced in the US by allocation and the Canadian market (initially, only in Ontario and Alberta) . Available in Québec since January 2008. This limited-release special blend of Crown Royal is sold in numbered bottles, and is made from the last batch of whiskey distilled at the Waterloo distillery. After mothballing in 1992, the Waterloo distillery burned down in 1993, with only a small amount of whisky being left behind [13]. It received a 7¼ and 7¾ from Whisky Magazine critics [14].

The latest variation, Crown Royal Cask No.16, was introduced late 2007. Made from over fifty blended and individually aged whiskies in 12 year old cognac barrels. These barrels are made of oak from the Limousin forest in France. The whiskies are designed to have a cognac type of finish with notes of rye, grain, and fruit [15].

As a point of comparison, in February 2007, a 750 mL (commonly called a fifth in the USA) bottle of Crown Royal could typically be purchased in the United States for around US$28; a 750 mL bottle of Special Reserve for $US 50, a 750 mL bottle of Crown Royal Cask No.16 for US$100, and a 750 mL bottle of Crown Royal XR for US$160.

[edit] Society of the Crown

The society is a free online membership group (crownroyal.com) where Crown Royal lovers receive complimentary personalized labels, access to a unique merchandise store, regular communications, sweepstakes and contests. All of which are only available to members [16].

[edit] Consumption

Crown Royal is often mixed with another, usually non-alcoholic, beverage for added flavour such as ginger ale and Coca-Cola. Common names of these beverages include: Crown Sidecar, Crown & Soda, Crown & Coke, Crown Lemon-Lime, and Crown Fizz. A mixture made with Royal Crown Cola is called an RCCR (Royal Crown Crown Royal).

There are some "premium" Crown Royal variants; including Crown Royal Limited Edition and Crown Royal Special Reserve. The Spirit Journal gave the Special Reserve its "highest recommendation" rating of 5 stars, and Whisky Magazine gave the Special Reserve its Editor's Choice Award.

[edit] Advertising

Among its advertising venues, Crown Royal advertises in various motor sports events. Crown Royal sponsors the #26 Ford of Jamie McMurray, and the Crown Royal 400 race in NASCAR. From 2004 until 2006, Crown Royal was the title sponsor of the International Race of Champions. Also, in auto racing, Crown Royal Special Reserve is a sponsor of the Grand American Road Racing Association's Rolex Sports Car Series. Crown Royal was a primary sponsor of the Washington International Horse Show for severals years in the 1990s.

[edit] Crown Bag

The velvet Crown Royal bag is well-known among trumpet players for its use as a mute, and as such is one of a number of possible approaches to a muted trumpet solo in the second movement of Gershwin's Piano Concerto in F. Many brass musicians, especially trumpet players, use the velvet bag as a carrying case for their mutes.

[edit] References

  1. ^ The Bronfmans: The Rise and Fall of the House of Seagram; Nicholas Faith; Thomas Dunne Books - May 30, 2006 - ISBN 0-312-33219-X
  2. ^ January/February 2001 CANADIAN WHISKY, Beverage Net SPIRITS BUSINESS. Retrieved January 4, 2008.
  3. ^ Crown Royal
  4. ^ "Crown Royal whisky is distilled in Gimli, but bottled further east, in Amherstburg, Ont. Wayne Hurst, mayor of the southwestern Ontario town - population 22,000, 25 kilometres south of Windsor - says the bottling plant plays an important role in the community. He, too, would like to leave a mark on millions of bottles of booze."
  5. ^ Business Edge News Magazine - businessedge.ca - Ontario Edition - Towns look to leave mark on booze bottles
  6. ^ "The Amherstburg plant blends and bottles the company's top-selling Crown Royal whisky for both domestic and international consumption."
  7. ^ Layoffs land at Diageo
  8. ^ UFCW Press Release. Crisis Brewing at Crown Royal as Strike Deadline Looms at Distillery (English). Market Wire/CCN Matthews. Retrieved on 2007-02-11. http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release_html_b1?release_id=207366
  9. ^ Sun Media. Distillery workers OK pact, averting strike (English). Winnipeg Sun. Retrieved on 2007-02-11.
  10. ^ About Special Reserve, CrownRoyal.com Special Reserve. Retrieved January 4, 2008.
  11. ^ Crown Royal Special Reserve, WhiskyMag.com Whiskies. Retrieved January 4, 2008.
  12. ^ Crown Royal SR Special Reserve, WhiskyMag.com Whiskies. Retrieved January 4, 2008.
  13. ^ About Crown Royal XR, CrownRoyal.com Crown Royal XR. Retrieved January 4, 2008.
  14. ^ Crown Royal XR Extra Rare, WhiskyMag.com Whiskies. Retrieved January 4, 2008.
  15. ^ About Cask No.16, CrownRoyal.com Crown Royal Cask 16. Retrieved January 4, 2008.
  16. ^ 1. What is the Society of the Crown and what benefits would I have as a member?, CrownRoyal.com FAQ. Retrieved January 4, 2008.

[edit] External links

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