Crown Royal was created by Seagrams in honor of a 1939 visit by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. A case of Crown Royal was presented to the King and Queen at the start of a cross-canadian train trip and legend has it that by the time they reached their first stop they called and requested more Crown Royal be brought onboard. - it is distilled on the shores of Lake Winnipeg in Gimli, Manitoba -
Canadian - min. 8 years old - blend of 50 different whiskies including 15 bourbons and 15 rye whiskies - introduced to the US in 1965 -
Special Reserve - introduced in 1992 - In the course of creating Crown Royal and more particularly tasting the individual barrels that will go into the blend that will become Crown Royal, distillers discover barrels of exceptional quality. These barrels are separated and aged longer for blending into Crown Royal Special Reserve. - there are a larger amount of rye whiskies in the special reserve for a creamier nutty taste.
Crown Royal Cask 16 - the newest addition to the Crown Royal stable - Cask 16 is also a blend of 50 different whiskies individually aged, blended, and rested an additional 6 months minimum in Ex-cognac barrels from the Limousine forest - Each barrel is at least 12 years old - 16 is stamped on each barrel to indicate its origin (16 is the postal code for the cognac region of France)
Crown XR - After a devastating fire at the original Waterloo Distillery, Master Distiller Andrew McCay crafted Crown Royal Extra Rare with the surviving 'Waterloo' whiskies at its heart. Some of the whiskies are over 100 years old and with that rarity comes very limited quantity. Fortunately and unfortunately for the consumer, Seagrams has given in to increased distribution demands. This increase in production of a limited amount of whiskies will drive the availability of Extra rare down to 5 or 6 years worth of product, down significantly from the original estimation of 15 years