The whiskey wash logo
The World's Most-Visited
Whiskey Website
The World's Most-Visited
Whiskey Website

Trending Stories

Search
Canadian

Whiskey Review: Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye

Jim Murray thought Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye was the best whisky of 2015. Read our review to find out if we agree.

OVERALL RATING

$30.00
  • Margarett Waterbury is a whiskey enthusiast and industry expert.
Like Conversation
Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye

Tasting Notes

About:

Appearance:
Dark coppery gold
Nose:
Gobs of red and dark fruit – cherry, plum, apricot, watermelon – drenched in wildflower honey. Warm multigrain toast, marzipan, and apple skins mingle with an almost falsely sweet aroma, like low-calorie sweetener.
Palate:
Watermelon, cherry, and sour apple notes characterize the entry. The mid-palate is sweet – but not distressingly so – before it settles into a pleasant, somewhat metallic bitterness, like eating bread crust with an aluminum metal fork. Only in the long, tingly finish do I notice much in the way of canonical rye spice (cinnamon, clove, black pepper, etc.). Conclusion: This is an exceptionally fruit-forward rye more closely aligned with bourbon than funky, earthy American rye. The entire experience, from nose to finish, is clean, bright, and unmuddled. It’s quite sweet, but the sweetness is balanced by a soft, grainy bitterness throughout that prevents the spirit from straying into syrupiness. A fun, bold sipping whisky for an affordable price. FINAL SCORE: My (superfluous) rating? 90/100
Finish:
Comments:

Editor’s Note: This whiskey was either bought as a sample by The Whiskey Wash or provided to us as a review sample by the party behind it. Per our editorial policies, this in no way influenced the outcome of this review.

Margarett Waterbury

Margarett Waterbury is the author of "Scotch: A Complete Introduction to Scotland's Whiskies" and a full-time freelance writer and editor specializing in the beverage industry. Her work has graced the pages of numerous publications, including Whisky Advocate, Food and Wine, Spirited Magazine, Artisan Spirit, Edible Seattle, Sip Northwest, Civil Eats, Travel Oregon, and many others. She also boasts editorial experience as the former managing editor of Edible Portland and as a co-founder and former managing editor of The Whiskey Wash. In recognition of her talent, Margarett received the Alan Lodge Young Drinks Writer of the Year award in 2017 and was awarded fellowships for the Symposium for Professional Wine Writers in 2017 and 2019.

All Posts

Latest On The Whiskey Wash

The whiskey wash logo