Crown Royal Bottle, Canada, circa 1960s; B86.20.1.
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Crown Royal Bottle, Canada, circa 1960s; B86.20.1. View Image Notes in New Window |
The Seagram Company's blended rye whisky, Crown Royal, with its purple bag packaging, is one of the most notable success stories in the history of the beverage alcohol industry. Created as a tribute to visiting royalty, it quickly established a new standard of excellence among Canadian whiskies and remains one of Seagram's greatest sales stories.
The tradition of Crown Royal began in 1939 with the first Royal Tour of Canada by reigning British monarchs, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. To mark this historic occasion, Samuel Bronfman, President of the Seagram Company, decided to create a quality whisky to be packaged in a crown-shaped bottle and dressed in a royal purple bag. Like the packaging, the name chosen for the product was intended to reflect the quality of the spirit, a marketing concept that quickly caught the consumer's attention.
 Crown Royal Moulds, Waterloo, Quebec; circa 1970s; 1982. View Image Notes in New Window |
The production of Crown Royal required the skilful combination of a selection of aged rye whiskies. Due to its flavour complexity, it was one of the Seagram Company's most difficult whiskies to blend, and Master Blenders had to work to a standard that ensured uniformity and continuity of flavour that was distinctly Crown Royal.
In blending Crown Royal, different types of whiskies of various flavours and characteristics were mixed together to such a degree that no one flavour component was identifiable. Originally, up to forty different whiskies were used in the blending formula for Crown Royal with the youngest whisky being ten years old. The formula for Crown Royal was altered in 1950, changing the oldest whisky from a thirty-five year old to a thirty-year old rye whisky and the youngest from a ten to a nine-year old. Shortly thereafter, information on the age of the whiskies contained in Crown Royal was removed from the back bottle label, only to briefly reappear from 1970-1976 to announce that the youngest whisky had reverted back to a ten-year old. Rising inventory costs eventually led to the further reduction in the age of the oldest whisky used and Crown Royal began to be marketed as a ten-year old whisky.
Whiskies used in the Crown Royal blend were originally produced at Seagram plants across Canada. During the peak production period of the 1970s, Seagram distilleries were located in New Westminster (British Columbia), Gimli (Manitoba), Waterloo and Amherstburg (Ontario) as well as Beaupré and LaSalle (Quebec). With the subsequent closure and realignment of Seagram distilleries in the 1980s and 90s, only the Gimli and LaSalle plants continued to produce whiskies for Crown Royal.
According to Seagram Master Blenders, the blending formula for Crown Royal created a whisky that had depth of flavour, a rich texture and a balanced weight. World renowned whisky expert Michael Jackson described Crown Royal as being "clean, delicate, well- rounded with a hint of oakiness in the finish"
- characteristics that have helped to develop a long-standing tradition of brand loyalty among rye-drinking Canadian and American consumers.