I’m assuming that Costco was looking for a whiskey that was quintessentially Irish, and so opted for pot still whiskey. Possibly with a little malt whiskey blended in. If I had to hazard a guess, I think the Kirkland Signature Irish Whiskey consists of a mix of grain whiskey and pot still whiskey. All the whiskeys in the blend need to be at least as old as the age stated on the bottle. According to Irish regulations, a blended Irish whiskey can consist of grain whiskey blended with either pot still whiskey, malt whiskey or a combination of the latter two. It typically retails at Costco for around $30. This whiskey is a triple distilled, blended whiskey. Kirkland Signature, Irish Whiskey, 4 YO, 40% ABV, 1.75 liters Given that more than half of all the Canadian whisky sold in the US is Crown Royal, there are obviously a lot of people who like that whisky. What’s more important, is that if you like Crown Royal you will definitely like the Kirkland Signature Canadian Whisky. In a blind tasting, however, I think it would be very hard to distinguish between the two. That may reflect its longer aging compared to Crown Royal’s entry level expressions.

The Kirkland version seems a bit spicier to me. There is no question that the Kirkland Signature Canadian Whisky has a very similar aroma and taste profile to Crown Royal. The value is even more pronounced since the current 12 Crown Royal expressions don’t carry an age statement, while the Kirkland Signature expression carries a 6 YO age statement. It’s widely believed that Costco’s Canadian whisky is produced by Crown Royal.Ĭostco’s pricing is an exceptional value, and it is substantially less than the typically $40 to $50 price that the equivalent amount of Crown Royal will cost. In some states, you can find it for under $20. The Kirkland Signature Canadian Whisky is bottled at 1.75 liters and is typically priced in Costco for under $30. Kirkland Signature, Blended Canadian Whisky, 6 YO, NAS, 40% ABV, 1.75 liters Kirkland Signature, Blended Canadian Whisky Photo, courtesy Kirkland Signature/Costco That’s more sales than all the other brands of Canadian whisky combined.īelow are some notes on Costco’s Kirkland Brand whiskies. In 2019, Crown Royal sold over 6.8 million, 9-liter cases in the US. Or it may simply reflect the fact that Crown Royal is far and away the best-selling Canadian whisky in the US. Likewise, if Kirkland Signature’s Canadian whisky tastes very similar to Crown Royal it may be because the whisky is actually produced at the Gimli distillery in Manitoba, which produces Crown Royal. It might simply mean that the producer sought to mimic the taste of Dewar’s – the best blended Scotch whisky in the US. If Kirkland blended Scotch whisky tastes a lot like Dewar’s, that doesn’t mean that it is Dewar’s in Kirkland Signature packaging (although it could be).

Historically, Costco has usually not disclosed the producers of the Kirkland branded spirits a practice that has given rise to incessant speculation among consumers on the origins of the Kirkland bottlings.īear in mind that proprietary spirit brands will often purposely try to mimic the aroma and taste profile of market leaders.

Moreover, there are more than 200 Costco locations in 11 states, (California, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina and Ohio plus Washington, D.C.) that will deliver, via Instacart, alcoholic beverages directly to your home. In those states, you can purchase alcoholic beverages in a Costco without being a member. In 14 states, however, including Texas, California and New York, it is illegal to require a membership to purchase alcoholic beverages. Technically, Costco is a “membership club” and requires customers to be enrolled to shop in their stores.

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