http://www.luxist.com/2010/03/29/crown-royal-launches-premium-black/ Luxist Comments for Crown Royal Launches Premium "Black" http://www.luxist.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.luxist.com en-us Copyright 2013 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.luxist.com/2010/03/29/crown-royal-launches-premium-black/http://www.luxist.com/2010/03/29/crown-royal-launches-premium-black/
Flagship means, best of breed, highest quality. Not most commercially successful.

What is 'Flagship Crown Royal Expression'???

So was it tasted against the flagship Crown Royal XR or Pedestrian Crown Royal?

Crown Royal retails for about $23-$26 (here in AZ)
Crown Royal Reserve about $45 - $55
Crown Royal Cask no16 about $60 - $70
Crown Royal XR about $170 - $180

And chance in heck I'll ever get my hands on:
Crown Royal XR Heritage Edition (free to the British Crown, $10,000+ for us commoners)

And Jonnie Walker Black is also the not the 'Premium Expression.' While it is not the cheapest. Johnny Walker Red is, but that is made only for mixed drinks. Johnny Black is the common form of Johnny Walker, where the Johnny Blue is considered the premium.
]]>Mar 30th 2010 2:40AMhttp://www.luxist.com/2010/03/29/crown-royal-launches-premium-black/http://www.luxist.com/2010/03/29/crown-royal-launches-premium-black/
Same thing with Johnny Walker - if I order it somewhere straight, I assume I will be getting black, and would be annoyed to see them pouring me Red - and surprised to see them pouring me any of the others (and scared for my wallet).]]>Mar 30th 2010 9:54AMhttp://www.luxist.com/2010/03/29/crown-royal-launches-premium-black/http://www.luxist.com/2010/03/29/crown-royal-launches-premium-black/
Definitely not for the timid, this is more of a masculine drink at 90 proof.]]>Mar 30th 2010 10:58AMhttp://www.luxist.com/2010/03/29/crown-royal-launches-premium-black/http://www.luxist.com/2010/03/29/crown-royal-launches-premium-black/Apr 2nd 2010 1:01PMhttp://www.luxist.com/2010/03/29/crown-royal-launches-premium-black/http://www.luxist.com/2010/03/29/crown-royal-launches-premium-black/
I would have no problem if this replaced the new standard crown royal.]]>Apr 1st 2010 5:16PMhttp://www.luxist.com/2010/03/29/crown-royal-launches-premium-black/http://www.luxist.com/2010/03/29/crown-royal-launches-premium-black/Apr 5th 2010 11:38AMhttp://www.luxist.com/2010/03/29/crown-royal-launches-premium-black/http://www.luxist.com/2010/03/29/crown-royal-launches-premium-black/]]>Apr 9th 2010 1:51PMhttp://www.luxist.com/2010/03/29/crown-royal-launches-premium-black/http://www.luxist.com/2010/03/29/crown-royal-launches-premium-black/Apr 9th 2010 3:21AMhttp://www.luxist.com/2010/03/29/crown-royal-launches-premium-black/http://www.luxist.com/2010/03/29/crown-royal-launches-premium-black/Can you please explain that comparison?

You’re from Lubbock Texas and you said: “many people do not care for the more mellow flavor of Canadians.”
I would certainly understand that statement if you were from New York or Los Angeles, but from the heart of Texas?

First I certainly wouldn’t repeat that at too many gatherings in Texas considering what a dominant brand Crown Royal is there in sales and loyalty for decades.

Also, nationally, Crown Royal is the most profitable brand of spirits and I believe is one of the top 5 or 6 brands in sales. Since the late 1980’s Crown Royal has experienced a dramatic and sustained growth across the country. Based on results, it certainly is a drinking man’s drink.


]]>Apr 9th 2010 2:19PMhttp://www.luxist.com/2010/03/29/crown-royal-launches-premium-black/http://www.luxist.com/2010/03/29/crown-royal-launches-premium-black/
At the same mid shelf there are many single malts and designer whiskeys that take away the scene and trendy market. In the local dive bars bourbon is king. The college bars of course sell mostly well with the kids mainly prefering the Jager, Rumple, and midshelf tequila shots when they order anything more then the cheap stuff. At my hotel bar i do keep it stocked (as do most places i guess) for the business traveler who is not a bar regular. I sell more than a case of Jim Beam to a bottle of Crown though i do push Jim monday through thursday by making it my well at $2.50.

I personally believe that one of the main problems with Crown is Diageo's rather unskillful marketing. Im not sure if Diageo just doesnt understand the current bar market or if they are content with having huge brand recognition yet a very specific and often looked down on customer base. For example i will give the other things i stock from Diageo and how well it sells: With beer the only Diageo product i move with any regularity is Guiness (it has a definate clientale and i personally believe that it is being marketed extremely well.) On the scotch front you have Johnny Walker (i carry red and black) which i dont sell a whole lot of, but oddly i do move more Oban than most places i know (and it is a personal favorite.) My Hennessy moves in spurts and has a definite clientele, but people that really like Hen will drink little else. I guess what im really getting at is yes as the above commenter noted i live in Texas and not New York or LA. The market for drinks here is much different than in most huge metropolitan locations, however it is very flawed logic to think that people here believe that they are in any way less sophisticated or less influenced by current marketing trends. I live in a market where many women drink bourbon, in NY or LA you would likely pour a lot more vodka soda's. Those metropolitan women are completely out of Diageo's reach with the paltry offerings of Cirroc, Kettle One, or Smirnoff. However here in Texas a strong branding of a new flavorful Canadian or a good attempt at reinventing the Crown image as something other than a drink for people so out of touch they dont know better would likely bring tons of business. Crown suffers too much from the same has been marketing strategies that killed zima and has american sales of Heineken on life support, it is a drink that you would not be caught dead ordering. So i guess in conclusion i still stand by my orriginal stance that Crown Royal is to whiskey what McDonald's is to food, however i would also have to add that it has all the reputation of having an amateur following and a clientale so out of touch they are still comfortable in their Member's only jackets and fanny packs.]]>Apr 10th 2010 7:21PMhttp://www.luxist.com/2010/03/29/crown-royal-launches-premium-black/http://www.luxist.com/2010/03/29/crown-royal-launches-premium-black/
That is surprising, because it used to be for its price point.

“the very repugnant image that people have of crown drinkers”
What people? Considering that factually Crown drinkers far outnumber Beam and Jack drinkers I don’t think that matters. If you are talking about the high end vodka and scotch drinkers in Texas, I would agree but they are not in the majority.

“At my hotel bar”

I am not surprised that business travelers will drink whatever they typically drink based on where they come from and certainly does not reflect the state of Texas.

“Diageo just doesnt understand the current bar market or if they are content with having huge brand recognition yet a very specific and often looked down on customer base.”

As you know Crown Royal was created by the old Seagram Company. Diageo acquired the brand when Seagram went out of the beverage business. Diageo is a mammoth British company who now own the largest collection of big name spirits brands. Your statement is dead on in many respects. The consumer market in the U.S. is far different than any other country, but is not seen that way by companies like Diageo. Crown used to have a heavy focus with on-premise but that has changed.]]>Apr 11th 2010 10:27AMhttp://www.luxist.com/2010/03/29/crown-royal-launches-premium-black/http://www.luxist.com/2010/03/29/crown-royal-launches-premium-black/May 6th 2010 5:27PM