I’m not often an advocate for whiskeys that retail for a MSRP of $129.99. Too many of them are overpriced and don’t deliver enough quality at that price point. Crown Royal XR, however, is as good a Canadian whisky as I think has ever been produced.

This is a complex, layered whisky with notes of oak, dried apricot, honey, Canadian rye, and spices. It’s an essential addition to any Crown Royal aficionado’s collection, and sure to be a gift that will be treasured for years to come. While Crown XR isn’t an everyday whisky and it clearly isn’t meant to be, Crown XR is a great choice to commemorate important life events like a birth, anniversary, or a promotion. This is a whisky that delivers in every way, a true masterpiece among the world’s whiskeys.

Crown Royal XR includes whiskeys from the famed LaSalle distillery in Quebec, Canada as part of its blend. Now closed, the LaSalle distillery was the crown jewel in the Seagram liquor empire. Built in 1924, the LaSalle distillery was famous for its full-bodied and exceptionally smooth whiskeys, reportedly due to the quality of the water surrounding the distillery.

This is the second edition of Crown Royal XR, following the 2006 release which featured whiskeys from another famous Canadian distillery, the Waterloo distillery. Crown Royal Master Blender Andrew Mackay, who apprenticed at the LaSalle distillery, created this blend of Crown Royal’s finest stocks of whiskeys.

Crown Royal XR comes in an attractive dark blue presentation box, embossed with a crown and other designs. The box announces that this whisky is “handcrafted with the final batch of rare whiskies from the LaSalle distillery”. Upon opening the box, a big, bold, and attractive bottle with a heavy glass stopper sits atop a gold silk lining. Everything about the packaging of this whisky says that this is a special dram, and Crown Royal has spared no expense to show off just how special this release truly is to their company.

Few things in this world achieve perfection. Crown Royal and Andrew Mackay have created a masterpiece of Canadian whisky, and perhaps the most perfect Canadian whisky ever. If you enjoy Crown Royal or Canadian whisky, do not miss the opportunity to taste Crown Royal XR. Some things are just too good to miss, and Crown Royal XR is one of those things.

Disclosure: I received a sample of this product for review from Diageo. No other compensation from Diageo was received.