Crown Royal...used to be the perfect gift whiskey. Now with all the single malts and designer brands you don't dare to gift this unless you know the person well. This product has been marketed very well. Put it in a cool velvet-like bag with the gold drawstring (very high status marble bag) and place it in a classy looking box. And charge two to three times what it would be selling for in a regular bottle. Don't get me wrong this is smooth, tasty whiskey. But, so is MacNaughton's for one third the price. Yes, the Crown is a tiny bit sweeter, and has that great marketing thing going for it, but if just enjoying a good Canadian whiskey is your aim there are better values for sure. I'm not going to knock C.R. for savvy marketing and it sure doesn't deserve one or two star ratings ever. This is a good four star and would be four and a half if it weren't so expensive. I tried some on the rocks with a splash of water, followed by the same formula with Powers Gold (Irish) whisky. The Powers had a bit more character but the C.R. was sweeter and a bit smoother.
