“If any nation is consistently disregarded in the context of whiskey it seems like it’s Canada,” a Redditor said earlier this year. “Canadian whiskey is sort of a punchline, to the degree that Crown Royal seems more valued for the bag it comes than the whiskey because you can keep your D&D dice in it.”
But what if there was a whiskey from Canada that was identical to Crown Royal but less expensive? Would you take a flyer on it then?
That’s what creator Big Bear (@bigbearwine) is hoping for, per an Oct. 25 video that drew more than a million views. It promised via its on-screen caption, “Off-brand alcohol that taste[s] better and is cheaper,” part of a series of content in which he does comparison shopping to see if deals can be had on name-brand alternatives.
In April, for instance, the Daily Dot provided a look at his alternative to the popular vodka brand Tito’s.
Crown Royal Dupe
“I don’t have a product that tastes similar to Crown, I have a product that tastes identical to Crown Royal,” he begins in his video. “And when I mean it tastes identical, I mean it tastes identical.”
“Look at the similarities in the package … and we got the purple accents,” he points out. “Some of the language is the same, but you know what? It goes way further than just the package looks similar.
He films inside a store while he holds up Canadian Peak. “So we’ve done several side-by-side blind taste tests between Canadian Peak and Crown Royal. And I gotta tell you, overwhelmingly, this one is picked,” he contends. “It’s good and it’s eight bucks cheaper. That’s right, great product, Canadian whiskey and eight bucks cheaper.”
He goes on to theorize that higher overhead and a larger marketing budget contribute to Crown Royal’s higher price. Canadian Peak, while it can’t be found everywhere, did meet his pricing test at one Austin-area chain I checked at. There, at Twin Liquors, a 750-ml bottle of the whiskey cost $19.99, whereas an equally-sized bottle of Crown Royal was priced exactly eight dollars more.
The Big Bear Wine site, promoting the store in Pueblo, Colorado, says it has a “complex mixture of berries, mocha, caramel, dark fruits, and oak. A touch of spicy rye makes a crisp and interesting finish.”
What do whiskey drinkers say?
While Big Bear touts Canadian Peak, it doesn’t appear to be on many people’s radar. The Reddit post referenced at the start of this article, from the r/whisky forum, asked for Canadian whiskey recommendations, and Canadian Peak didn’t appear once.
“As a Canadian, I am a huge, huge fan of Wisers 18 and consider it my favorite whisky,” recommended one. “Gibsons 18 is a good second. Alberta Premium cask strength is a great representation of our rye. And Crown Royal has had some really great one-offs, like the XR and Monarch, but I don’t count them as they aren’t regular production.”
Another suggested, “I’m surprised nobody has mentioned Gooderham & Worts – apart from Wiser’s, I think they make my favorite Canadian whiskies.”
Liquor.com, meanwhile, opined on the 13 best Canadian whiskeys, spotlighting Crown Royal Deluxe as the winner in the Best Blend category. “Blended with 50 different whiskies aged in oak barrels, this spirit is extremely popular for a reason—it’s smooth, sweet, and can be used in many different cocktails,” the article said.
Commenters as connoisseurs
But what do people flocking to TikTok think?
“I find the Costco (Kirkland) rye is identical to Crown,” said one.
“Alberta Premium is, surprisingly, one of the best Ryes in the world,” another offered. “Apparently. They sell it by the gallon in a plastic jug here.”
Someone challenged the creator’s assertion by asking, “If people are picking predominantly one over the other in a blind taste test then how can you say that they taste identical???”
And one guffawed, “We don’t even have Canadian Peak in Canada at our liquor store lol.”
Finally, deep into the comments section, one person had actually tried it. That person reported, “Canadian Peak is good but it is not identical. Very similar though.”
@bigbearwine Cheaper and better #liquor #liquorstore #canadianwhisky #whisky #whiskey ♬ original sound – Big Bear
The Daily Dot has reached out to the creator via TikTok direct message and online media form and to Diageo, the parent company for Crown Royal, via email.
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