Alberta Premium Cask Strength Rye

I’m a sucker for a good Canadian rye whisky and, in my opinion, Alberta Distillers in Calgary are one of the most underrated whisky makers in my fine home province. If any sort of image problem really does exist for this distillery, I think it’s at least partly because they keep their products so reasonably priced. After all their flagship offering – Alberta Premium Rye – is readily available for $20 or less! Just because a whisky is priced so you can load it up with cola doesn’t mean that you should… but, if I’m honest, I’m guilty of looking to more expensive brands for my own sippers too!

Relatively recently, however, Alberta Premium has been launching more top-shelf offerings, with bigger price tags. (Still entirely reasonable prices for the age and quality of the whiskies, if you ask me.) Several years ago, I got my hands on a few bottles of their 30 yr expression. (I still have one unopened bottle waiting for a special occasion.) Then, seemingly in the wrong order, they came out with a 20 yr expression that I will also need to review sooner than later. And now, they have a NAS Cask Strength version that He Who Shall Not Be Named crowned as the most recent World Whisky of the Year.

I imagine that any whisky that’s received the title of Whiskey of the Year gets snapped up pretty quickly but we Canadians haven’t had to worry about one of ours claiming the award too often. However, back in 2015 Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye took the Whisky Bible championship and I do remember how quickly it disappeared from the shelves for a while. Well, the same thing happened again this year and, by the time I’d heard that Alberta Premium Cask Strength had put Canadian whisky back on top, it was nowhere to be found. Fortunately, it’s started popping up again and I was able to grab a bottle for $65 CAD. (Most shops have it priced quite a bit higher than where I bought mine…) This release is bottled at a potent 66% abv.

To the Eye

All honey-gold with flashes of amber. A swirl of my Canadian Glencairn reluctantly produces sticky, skinny legs. Entirely subjective observation… it looks exactly the way I like a Canadian whisky ought to look!

In the Nose

My first impression is surprise at how little alcohol burn there is in my nostrils! Cinnamon toast, plenty of oak, zesty rye spice and a hint of red licorices. Not super complex but well composed and very pleasant.

A drop of water didn’t change much but, perhaps, dialled up the caramel and rye spice at the expense of the candy notes.

On the Tongue

Far smoother than a 132-proof spirit has any business tasting! Of course there’s the expected dusty, spicy rye and plenty of caramel and vanilla but there are also a number of pleasant surprises in this dram, as well! Peppermints, fruity rye berries, a breath of bittersweet chocolate, and a very noticeable dry-fruit flavour that the tasting notes call black-currant, but I keep thinking of chokecherry. The finish is huge and amazingly long with oak, baking spices and a sweet fruitiness that eventually fades to bubblegum… just awesome!

With water, the typical Canadian notes are brought forward – caramel , vanilla and some peppercorns. Unfortunately, water mutes some of those really interesting flavours. Still good, but there’s definitely a reason this whisky has been left at 66%!

Final Thoughts

Great whisky. Really, there’s not much else to say! Alberta Premium has done it again – providing an excellent dram that is also a tremendous value. For the $65 I paid for this bottle, my cupboard won’t be without one!