Crown Royal Vanilla arrived in 2015 as the third flavoured expression in the range, following Maple and Regal Apple. It is built on the familiar Gimli blend and then infused with natural Madagascar bourbon vanilla, and bottled at 35% ABV — a lower strength that is standard for the flavoured Crown Royal line and reflects the fact that these bottlings are intended as much for mixing and sipping over ice as for neat consumption.
The vanilla used here is the real article rather than a synthetic flavouring, and it shows. On the nose the dram leads with vanilla ice cream and cream soda, backed by toffee and the soft corn sweetness of the base Crown Royal blend. The palate is thick and dessert-like: marshmallow, custard, caramel and a light dusting of oak spice that stops the whole thing from collapsing into confectionery. The finish is short and sweet, with vanilla pod and a last whisper of rye warmth that is just enough to remind you there is whisky in the glass.
Judged as a traditional Canadian whisky this misses the point entirely — and judged that way it would score much lower. But Vanilla is not pretending to be a traditional Canadian whisky. It is a deliberately sweet, deliberately accessible flavoured bottling aimed at the long-drink market, at the cream-soda highball, at the whisky-and-Coke drinker looking for something softer. On those terms it delivers cleanly and without artifice. Pour it over ice, add a splash of cola or ginger beer, and it becomes exactly the dessert in a glass it was designed to be.
