Alberta Springs 25yo Limited Rye

[Frodo]

Good to see interest in the category, I haven't tried this one as yet, it is not available (not that I have seen) in Ontario. I always have an open mind, and look forward to trying it.

Hi Gary:

It's on the LCBO on-line inventory. Only about 70 bottles or so in Ontario. At $30/bottle I'm tempted to stock up...

[Gillman]

Okay thanks, I'll look for it.

Gary

[Powertrip]

If Kittling Ridge gets around to releasing any single cask whiskies, that may be the next breakthrough.

John Hall "promised" me it will happen, and there wasn't a soul in the room who didn't encourage the idea.
We must now just sit and battle time.....

[Frodo]

Just tried the Alberta Premium 25yr. I don't have a lot of experiance with rye whisky so I'm not sure about what to make of this. Yes, this is a blended whisky, but all the whiskies in the blend are made from rye. So not a "straight" rye but not a typical blended whisky made from multiple grains either.

At the price point of $30 (for a 25yr old) at the LCBO it isn't bad. It just doesn't light up my fireworks like Blantons or ETL. It does have a strong spicy/fruity taste that I think comes from the rye, overlayed with some subtle oak.

[TNbourbon]

Please come to Bardstown, Frodo -- let's trade. I'll bring a straight rye.

[Frodo]

Please come to Bardstown, Frodo -- let's trade. I'll bring a straight rye.

Coming to the Bardstown KBF is one of my goals in the next two years. I bought 6 bottles of the Alberta Premium 25yr and I'll hapily save one for the trip!!!

I just thought of something - I'd put the bottle on the table in the Gezebo. May not have a bottle to trade. I'll see what I can do...

[TNbourbon]

...I just thought of something - I'd put the bottle on the table in the Gazebo...

That works fine -- and there's usually a quite decent lineup of straight rye there, too.

[Gillman]

I got this today.

First, let me say, this is very much a traditional Canadian whisky. That is, it has a mild, fairly neutral palate.

It contains no doubt a small percentage of low-proof aged spirit (Canadian straight-style whiskey made in house at Alberta Distillers for the flavoring element). But the taste is Canadian all the way, not American and no one for example would ever confuse this with a U.S. straight rye, well-aged or other.

That said, this is a very good Canadian whisky, one of the best available today and maybe the best.

Its chocolate and cocoa-like nose and taste derive from oak, I assume this is a small batch of various barrelings of aged whiskies and through the combination of whiskies from different barrels they got a complex, soft oaky taste. It is woody but not tannic and otherwise very well blended.

The steely metallic elements, referred to in the lengthy encomium from Jim Murray's Whisky Bible 2007 printed on the presentation tube, no doubt come from rye but in a way different than rye (in my experience) manifests in true (straight) rye whiskey. I don't mind that the company vaunts the use of all-rye on the labelling and that the whisky takes "genuine" character from that. This is true - in Canadian terms.

For some $30.00 this is excellent, a good soft rich gentle dram when you feel like that. Funny, by coincidence I tasted at LCBO's tasting bar a half-ounce of Remy Extra, sold for hundreds of dollars at LCBO, and found it good (not Olympian). I think it aspires to the "pale dry", aristocratic style of brandy (like Delamain). Its woodsy, concentrated, acidic dry overtones were similar to some of the top notes in the Alberta Premium 25 year old. (Rancio, that is). Overall I found the two quite comparable in style and yet one cost $30 and the other around $400!

Gary