Canadian rye named World Whisky of the Year

World-renowned whisky writer Jim Murray has named Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye as the 2016 World Whisky of the Year. This marks the first time a Canadian whisky has received this honour.

“Crown Royal Northern Harvest pops up out of nowhere and changes the game,” says Murray. “It certainly puts the rye into Canadian Rye. To say this is a masterpiece is barely doing it justice.”

Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye was first released in Canada in the fall of 2015, but according to a press release from Diageo Canada, the variant showcases the distinctly Canadian rye whisky featured in the traditional Crown Royal Deluxe Blend that’s been popular for more than 75 years.

As the latest variant to be introduced by Crown Royal, Northern Harvest Rye (45 per cent ABV) is the brand’s first ever blended, 95-per-cent rye whisky.

“We couldn’t be more proud that Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye is the first Canadian whisky to be named World Whisky of the Year,” says Alistair Kidd, brand director, Whisky at Diageo Canada. “Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye showcases the rye whisky that is integral to making Canadian whisky unique, and is a testament to the incredible distilling and blending that takes place in Gimli, Manitoba, the home of Crown Royal.”