Tasting Date: 2021-05-30
Region: Canadian Whisky
Type: Flavoured
Age Statement: NAS
Size: 750ml
ABV: 40% ABV
Cask Type: Unknown
Distiller: The Crown Royal Distilling Co.
Location: Nestled on the edge of Lake Winnipeg, Crown Royal’s distillery is in Gimli, Manitoba, Canada.
Bottler: Diageo Canada Inc. in Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada.
Purchase Location: Edmonton
Purchase Date: 2020
Cost: Unknown (Currently sells for $34.74 including GST & Deposit)
Tasting Notes From The Crown Royal Website:
NOSE: Light, fresh maple combined with the signature caramel and vanilla nose of Crown Royal.
PALATE: An exceptionally smooth blend with an authentic light maple taste.
FINISH: Warm, woody caramelized note.
Colour: Maple
TransparentSmoke Review: I had another friend step forward after reading my reviews of Crown Royal Apple and Crown Royal Peach. This time telling me that I have to try Crown Royal Maple:
This is the second “Maple” finished whisky I have reviewed. The first, the Knob Creek Maple Smoked Bourbon, had the same intense smell of maple syrup. Knob Creek indicated that they add smoked maple syrup at the end, cutting their ABV from 50% to 45%. I spent some time doing some research to confirm if this bottle of Crown Royal Maple has any actual maple syrup in it. The Crown Royal Maple bottle does list natural and artificial flavours, but the ABV is still at 40% just like the main product line, so those additions must be minimal. The Crown apple and peach flavoured whiskies are at 35% ABV indicating something substantial has been added to their volume. The back of the Crown Royal Maple bottle says that “Our master blender discovered that finishing our celebrated whisky with maple toasted oak creates a uniquely smooth experience.”. Which is still no help in determining if there is maple syrup in this whisky.
I have never made maple whisky, but I did spent a few years living in Quebec, and I can tell you that sticking maple wood into a liquid does not make that liquid taste like maple syrup. It requires a lot of actual maple syrup to make things taste like maple syrup. That or artificial flavours and that is the biggest disappointment here. I have written an email letter to Crown Royal to determine if there is any actual maple syrup in the product. It would be a shame if such a Canadian product doesn’t have any actual maple syrup in it. I will report back if they reply to me.
The strong “artificial”?!? maple nose hides almost all of the whisky smell underneath. I tried letting the glass breathe, but the nose never gets more complex for me than maple syrup. In fact there is so much maple smell, that it occurred to me, that I should be comparing to actual maple syrup instead of to whisky. This was an interesting exercise, because it turns out that maple syrup from the fridge does not smell like maple syrup. The cold keeps the smells sedate, unlike what happens when it is added to the alcohol in whisky. Tasting pure maple syrup requires a lot more to impart flavour at the level of the whisky than I had anticipated, almost a spoonful was required in fact. The first sip of Crown Royal Maple has maple all over your taste buds and it is here that you realize for the first time that the Crown Royal and the maple flavours have merged to create a new distinctive thing called Maple Whisky. Side by side with pure maple syrup you can recognize the light burn on the tongue and the slight warmth in the chest.
While the final product is decisively average as a regular whisky, I will give them credit for creating an easy to drink maple beverage.
[EDIT – June 1st 2021]
Crown Royal has replied to my inquiry, after sending me two notes that explained that they do not give out their ingredients lists. I have reproduced them here for you to read.
Email number one:
Thank you for taking time to contact Crown Royal.
Ingredients are proprietary information and we generally do not have the information readily available to provide to consumers. We do, however, have a technical team that handles these types of inquiries and I will forward your inquiry to them. Before I can do so please provide me with the following information:
* Please verify your first and last name.
* Due to our commitment to social responsibility, I need to verify that you are of legal drinking age. What is your birth month and birth year?
* Please provide your State (or Province) and Country where you reside.
* Please provide me with your phone number so that we may contact you directly, should we need to.
* Please provide me with the specific variant(s) you are interested in. We will not be able to confirm our entire selection of products.
We cannot provide you with a complete ingredient list as this information is proprietary. However, if you provide me with specific ingredients you are concerned with, we may be able to confirm if they are present in our product.
Once again, thank you for contacting Crown Royal.
Sincerely,
Jose
Crown Royal Consumer Care Representative
Be sure to pick up our new Crown Royal Vanilla! So good neat or in a cocktail. Visit www.crownroyal.com for recipes.
Please celebrate responsibly! Visit to www.b4udrink.org to learn more.
Email number two:
Thank you for the information your provided.
As mentioned, ingredients are proprietary information and we generally do not have the information readily available to provide to consumers. I have forwarded your request to our quality team, and if they provide me with a response, I will be in contact with you.
Once again, thank you for contacting Crown Royal.
Sincerely,
Jose
Crown Royal Consumer Care Representative
Be sure to pick up our new Crown Royal Vanilla! So good neat or in a cocktail. Visit www.crownroyal.com for recipes.
Please celebrate responsibly! Visit to www.b4udrink.org to learn more.
Email number three:
Thank you for contacting Crown Royal consumer care regarding your ingredient inquiry.
Crown Royal Maple contains natural maple flavor. If you have any concerns related to consuming this product, we suggest that you speak with a doctor.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Peter Venegas
Director, Consumer Care – North America
Crown Royal
I am upset with Crown Royal, it was a pretty simple question. The official answer to does Crown Royal Maple have maple syrup in it? Is no, it “contains natural maple flavor”, whatever that is.
Our Score: 57/100
Bottles on Hand: 
