By Andy Young
Renowned whisky writer Jim Murray has named Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye as the best whisky in the world in his 2016 Whisky Bible.
The award means that for the second year in a row Scotland has failed to take out Murray's top rank, after the Yamazaki Single Malt Sherry Cask 2013, took out the top rank last year.
In fact in the 2016 Whisky Bible, there are no Scotch Whiskies in Murray's top five. Instead the top ranks go to:
- Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye (Canada)
- Pikesville Straight Rye (USA)
- Midleton Dair Ghaelach (Ireland)
- William Larue Weller Bourbon (Bot.2014) (USA)
- Suntory Yamazaki Mizunara (Bot.2014) (Japan)
Murray, who tasted more than 1000 whiskies for the 2016 Bible, said of the Crown Royal: "Rye, that most eloquent of grains, not just turning up to charm and enthral but to also take us through a routine which reaches new heights of beauty and complexity.
"To say this is a masterpiece is barely doing it justice."
Yvonne Briese, Vice President of Crown Royal said: "Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye showcases the rye whisky that has been such an integral component of the Crown Royal Deluxe blend since 1939. This is a testament to the unbelievable blending and distilling that’s been taking place in Gimli for over 75 years.
"We are thrilled that Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye has been named World Whisky of the Year."