D I S T I L L E R Y P R O F I L E
Fit for a King
Crown Royal sparkles amid Diageo’s global
portfolio of premium spirits
By Kelly Gray
When it comes to whisky, Canada
punches above its weight.
Canadian whiskies are known
for their incredible value as a high-taste,
high-quality spirit, on a par with premier
Scottish and Irish products. Among the
leaders in Canada’s teeming portfolio of
domestic whisky is Crown Royal, a brand
of incredible renown and history that has
been acclaimed as a standout, not just in
Canada, but globally as well.
Jacek Nowak/123rf
Crown Royal was created in 1939, by
distilling industry legend Sam Bronfman,
the owner of The House of Seagram. Crown
Royal Deluxe was distilled and blended as a
gift for the visiting King George VI and the
Queen Mother Elizabeth on their national
tour of Canada. Following 600 blending
trials, Crown Royal was born as a marriage
of 50 whiskies, and Bronfman had 10 cases
of his new whisky placed on the King’s train.
Today, this iconic, purple-bagged Canadian
bestseller is a blend of spirits that are
distilled by Diageo at facilities in Valleyfield,
Que., and their site on the western shores
of Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba at Gimli,
where the company stores more than 1.5
million barrels of whisky.
The Gimli plant opened in 1969, as a
Seagram facility that produced the base
alcohol for Seagram’s V.O. When demand
fell for this product, Seagram decided to
close its Waterloo, Ont., plant and focus
on the production of whiskies for Crown
Royal. Manitoba was an attractive location
for distilling as the site offered pure water
filtered through limestone and sand. In
addition, the new distillery was closer to
the world-class grains that are grown on
the western prairies. Currently, 80 per cent
of the grains used to distill Crown Royal are
grown in the region.
Global drinks leviathan Diageo
purchased the Gimli facility in 2001.
Diageo’s Gimli plant sits on 360
acres and features 51 warehouses and
one stillhouse that rises high above the
treeline. The distillery employs 78 people
who distill, mature, blend and run Crown
Royal whiskies. The plant has an annual
capacity of 82,250 tons of grain. Overall, the
Manitoba distilling site can fill 1,100 barrels
per day.
Describing the process, Diageo
Canada general manager, Jodi Rumble
said, “Roughly 80 per cent of our grain (rye,
corn and barley) comes from Manitoba,
and surrounding provinces. Five different
recipes (mash bills) and 12 distillation
columns produce the individual whiskies
SUMMER 2021 § POURED CANADA § 7