While we’re not particularly inclined to grab the flavor stuff off the shelfs, we know that Crown Royal does some well balanced flavored whiskeys. If you haven’t tried them, you especially owe it to yourself to try the Salted Caramel and Vanilla, both of which are rather delightful, if clearly flavored. This penchant for quality lead us to take a change on Crown Royal Peach. After all, summer is almost here, and there aren’t a lot of readily available peach liqueurs out there.
Crown Royal Peach
Sight: A beautiful mix of tawny and auburn.
Smell: There’s an amazing mix of fresh cut peaches and subtle more spicy, tea like notes. The peaches have only a hint of candied nature to them, and line up more with the smell right next to the pit of a fresh peach. The tea like elements are both herbal and slightly brown sugar like.
Sip: The sip is instantly sweet, but with a good amount of brightness and a tempered oak. The flavor of fresh peaches predominates, but brings in more of a candied element. Notes of sweet tea and woody elements creep in, giving a beautiful character.
Savor: The finish continues it’s balanced sweetness and leans into a black tea and peach character. It lingers longingly without being cloying.
Crown Royal Peach is decidedly peach forward, yet also extraordinarily well balanced. The brightness to the peach is natural and inviting. The whiskey elements lend some spice and herbal notes that decidedly compliment the whiskey. These elements make it a great option on ice, but also for mixing. It also should have better availability than some other liqueurs due to Crown’s distribution network.
In Cocktails
There are no obvious cocktails for a peach flavored whiskey, but in crafting originals, it’s well balanced and not overwhelming. It plays particularly well with lemon and honey syrups, leaning on it’s tea like elements. The subtle sweetness also helps it blend in. It’s worth noting that it’s not so sweet as to imbalance a drink. For these reasons, it may work as a stand in for Giffard Peche de Vigne, but keep in mind the underlying whiskey notes will make a difference.
Crown Royal Peach Overall
Crown Royal has most likely hit a solid triple with their Crown Royal Peach. The whiskey is very good and well balanced. The flavors are also natural and inviting. There’s a solid balance as well, but there’s something that leaves it rather one note. The success will depend on people finding easy obvious uses. With that said, we certainly hope Crown Royal Peach can stick around.