Skip to main content

Crown Royal Goes Full French Canadian with Release of French Oak Cask Finished Whisky

Crown Royal

Crown Royal is expanding its Crown Royal Noble Collection line with a new release, French Oak Cask Finished.

The French Oak Cask Finished is the fourth release in Crown Royal’s Noble Collection. The expression takes the base Crown Royal Fine De Luxe and rests it on French oak to finish the aging process. The oak is sourced from Vosges region in France, following a two-year, open-air aging process and a two-step fire toasting. The oak imparts a unique body and structure to the Fine De Luxe’s notes of caramel, vanilla, and fruit.

“We are honored to share this exceptional whisky and grateful we were given creative liberty to do so,” Crown Royal Master Blender Mark Balkenende said. “Our ability to elevate Crown Royal Fine De Luxe using innovative materials to bring out new flavors was an exciting experience for this team of veteran blenders.

“We are always looking for ways to experiment with the brand’s flavor profile and with Crown Royal Noble Collection French Oak Cask Finished, it is evident how intentional changes in barrel selection and aging can enhance the flavor while elevating the signature smoothness of Crown Royal Fine De Luxe.”

The new expression in the Noble Collection adds to the three previous releases: Cornerstone Blend, Wine Barrel Finished, and 13-Year-Old Blenders’ Mash.

“We’re continuously in awe of our master distillers and blenders’ ability to surprise and delight with interesting takes on whisky, while still maintaining the premium standards of excellence that distinguishes Crown Royal,” said Nicola Heckles, director of Crown Royal at Diageo North America. “Crown Royal Noble Collection French Oak Cask Finished is an example of our commitment to innovation and being unabashedly unafraid to try new things we anticipate people will enjoy.”

With French Oak Cask Finished, Canadian Crown Royal could be taking a page from the growing segment of French whisky, like Brenne and Bastille 1789.

Like the other Noble Collection expressions, French Oak Cask Finished finds itself in a sleek bottle with a crystal-cut base.

Crown Royal suggests sipping the whiskey neat or on the rocks to taste the full experience of the French Oak. The limited edition whisky will find its way nationwide at a suggested retail price at $60.

Editors' Recommendations

Pat Evans
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Pat Evans is a writer based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, focusing on food and beer, spirits, business, and sports. His full…
Forget wine — Beer and cheese is an unbeatable combination
Put the corkscrew away and crack open a cold one
Beer and cheese

When one hears the term cheese pairings, wine is the beverage that most often comes to mind, we'd wager. Because, of course, it is. The pairing of wine and cheese is as classic a coupling as peanut butter and jelly, bacon and eggs, or chocolate and strawberries. They're meant to be together. But that certainly doesn't mean that wine is the only adult beverage that can dance an alluring tango alongside everyone's favorite dairy product. Beer, as humble as its reputation can be, is also a beautiful balance to cheese's immense offering of flavors. While some may think of beer as not being as multi-dimensional and varied in its palate-pleasing capabilities as wine, this is not the case - especially now that we live in a world with so many exquisite craft beers, stouts, and lagers.
Of course, another classic accompaniment to cheese is bread or crackers. Why might that be, one might ask. Is it because we're simply in need of a starchy vessel to usher the cheese into our mouths? The answer is actually a bit deeper than that. Starches like bread and crackers are made from the same yeasty ingredients as beer, so their pairing makes perfect culinary sense.
This isn't to say, though, that one can simply pick up a hunk of cheddar and crack open a Budweiser and expect culinary artistry. The science is a bit more nuanced than that, so we're here to help you find the best pairings for your favorite beers and cheeses.

How to pair beer and cheese

Read more
Mijenta has a new cristalino tequila — here’s why bourbon fans will love it
Mijenta has a cristalino tequila perfect for bourbon drinkers
Mijenta Cristalino

If you’re new to tequila, you might not know all the terms. Even if you’re just a beginner, you probably know all about blanco, reposado, añejo, and maybe even joven. But chances are, you’re not familiar with Cristalino tequila. This reasonably contemporary style is simply añejo tequila that’s been charcoal filtered to remove its natural caramel color and various impurities.

The style is more than just a little popular. It’s actually the fastest growing style of tequila according to Nielsen data. The newest brand to get in on the Cristalino trend is Mijenta.

Read more
You may not dislike IPAs as much as you think — you’ve just tried the wrong type
There's much more to the IPA than bitter hop bombs
Beer

The IPA has been described as the cilantro of the beer world. It’s assumed by some novice drinkers that you either love it or hate it. On one hand, it’s one of the most popular beer styles in the American craft world. It’s loved by many drinkers for its liberal use of hops and fresh, crushable flavor profile.

But haters of the style dislike it because they have an assumption that all IPA beers are aggressively hopped and uncomfortably bitter. While there are IPAs that fit that criterion (and fans of that style can’t get enough of them), there are also a handful of other types of IPAs to fit any palate.
The IPA stigma

Read more