Lately, Canadian whisky blend Crown Royal has taken to releasing some very old expressions. This run began in 2021 with Crown Royal 18 year old, which back then was the oldest whisky Crown Royal had ever sold. But that was quickly followed by Crown Royal 29 year old in 2022, and by a 30 year old in 2023. Now comes the latest ultra-aged expression, Crown Royal Aged 31 Years.
Bottled at 46% ABV and retail-priced at $599, this 31 year old is a limited edition like its predecessors, available in 11 states. Just 6,000 bottles of the 29 year old were made available, the last expression for which bottle numbers were disclosed. The 31 year old’s volume is likely the same or perhaps even smaller.
Crown Royal is by far the biggest-selling Canadian whisky, outselling its nearest competitor, Black Velvet, by more than two to one. Much of its commercial success has been due to its flavored whiskies—expressions like Peach, Apple, Salted Caramel, Vanilla, and Blackberry. Those flavors have performed extraordinarily well in the marketplace and now account for over 45% of the brand's total business, according to our research unit Impact Databank. Crown Royal’s role with dedicated whisky fans has been less conspicuous, for years led by the now-discontinued Crown Royal XR (Extra Rare) label, though there have been other interesting releases as well.
In 2015 came the launch of Crown Royal Northern Harvest rye, a 90% rye expression scoring 91 points with Whisky Advocate and winning widespread acclaim. 2016 saw the start of the Crown Royal Noble Collection, a series of annual releases that ran through 2023. The first was Cornerstone Blend, melding three whisky styles (bourbon style, high rye, and coffee rye), followed by Wine Barrel Finished, which hit No. 17 on our 2017 Top 20 Whiskies of the Year. Then came Blender’s Mash, French Oak Cask Finished, 16 year old, and Winter Wheat, before the collection wrapped up last year with its final release, Barley Edition. The first four were priced at $60 which then rose to $70 for the 16 year old and Winter Wheat, and $80 for Barley Edition.
Earlier this year, Crown Royal also released a Canadian single malt at $55, though it was billed as a limited edition. At the top of Crown Royal's permanent range are its Fine De Luxe, Rye, and Black labels, all widely available at retail for around $30-$35. For now, the upper tier is being led by the ultra-aged whiskies. But Crown Royal is not alone among Canadian distillers in its recent run of older releases. Rival Canadian Club has been the leader, releasing Canadian Club 40 year old in 2017, at the time the oldest Canadian whisky ever. Then in 2018 Canadian Club began its Chronicles Series, starting with a 41 year old whisky. That was a series of annual releases, each year featuring a whisky one year older than the previous one, concluding in 2022 with a 45 year old. Canadian Club also offers a variety of other age-stated whiskies, including a 9 year old, 12 year old, and 20 year old. Elsewhere, J.P. Wiser’s launched its Decades Series earlier this year, starting with a 42 year old whisky and followed by a 28 year old (available only in Canada), with the promise of more ultra-aged releases to come.
Crown Royal Aged 31 Years
ABV: 46%
Price: $599
Availability: Limited; in select regions, including AZ, CA, DE, FL, GA, IL, LA, MI, OH, PA, TX
