Member-only story
Many alcohol brands are collectable and covetable, but can you name one better known and beloved for its accessories than Crown Royal? When I asked my parents about Crown, they didn’t know the brand’s name. But when I said “the purple bag” there was instant recognition.
“Oh yeah! We have some on the bar right now,” was my dad’s response. Knowing him as I do, that bag has already been earmarked for another purpose. I learned from the best. Recycling and upcycling is what we do. It’s in the blood. That bag will most likely wind up in his tool shed, a cozy haven for screwdrivers or nails. If I still lived at home, that bag might have already been spirited away up to my room for some purpose yet to be determined. Purple has always been my favorite color. And come on, who doesn’t love a chic little purple bag with gold thread? And it’s velvet!
Long before Jilly from Philly sang about Crown Royal on ice, or I could even understand what she was talking about, long before I was legally allowed to sip a Canadian blended whiskey cocktail, I knew and wanted Crown Royal in my life. Just because of that iconic bag.
Crown Royal knows the collectability and reusability of their iconic bags and uses the power of those velvet bags for good. For a decade now they’ve been recycling them for charity.
I have vivid memories of my first Crown bag repurposing. Growing up in Trinidad, the drinks I saw imbibed by adults were mostly beer, rum, or Johnnie Walker Black mixed with coconut water, the beloved elixir of older Trini men. Crown Royal entered the fray when my parents’ friends came over to visit, particularly a gregarious guy named Tim who had spent time in the American military. He enjoyed a good laugh and a cocktail on the rocks. I liberated my first Crown Royal bag from the patio table while my parents entertained him. And that bag became part of my extended toy collection for years.
