Crown Royal Black was launched in 2010 as the first significant line extension to the classic purple-bag range in years. The brief was simple: take the familiar Crown Royal character and make it bolder, darker and bigger. The result is bottled at 45% ABV rather than the standard 40%, and the whiskies in the blend are aged in more heavily charred oak barrels to push the colour, the weight and the caramelised oak character further forward.
It is still a Gimli blend — still built from the same vast library of corn, rye and barley component whiskies produced on the shore of Lake Winnipeg — but the proportions and the wood treatment give it a noticeably different accent. The bottle, dressed in black and silver rather than royal purple, telegraphs the intent clearly enough.
In the glass the nose is charred oak and dark toffee, with molasses, vanilla pod and a curious lick of cola-nut spice that feels almost purpose-built for the brand's most famous mixer. The palate is hotter and richer than Deluxe, with burnt sugar, dark cherry, cinnamon and a slap of oak char riding on the familiar cushion of corn sweetness. The extra five points of alcohol give it a useful bite through the middle. The finish is medium and drying, leaving toasted oak, black pepper and a long vanilla tail.
Black is unapologetically built for the whisky-and-cola hour, and it performs there beautifully. But it also has enough structure to earn its place in a rocks glass on its own, which is more than most 45% Canadian blends at this price can claim.
