Alberta Premium

[Darin]

Have any of you bourbon-heads tried this Rye whisky? Apparently Jim Murray praised this one many times, and so did ralphe on his youtube reviews.

 

It's only %40 ABV, but the price is right.

 

It's a %100 Rye whisky. I haven't tried many Rye's, even though I have access to a lot of Canadian ones...because I live in Canada.

 

This is the best one i've tried so far, The nose is beautifully soft...has a tiny bit of burn, and the finish is medium.

 

It's not very complex, but this stuff has a nice warm glow to it...excellent for the price.

 

I paid $15 for a pint, which is FAIR for around these parts.

 

 

[Kane]

1 hour ago, Darin said:

Have any of you bourbon-heads tried this Rye whisky?

There are many fans of Alberta Premium here thanks to sourced whiskey like WhitlePig 10, which is pretty much that juice without any doctoring. I remember being very fascinated at how unique WP was when I first tasted it many years ago, so count me in.

 

AFAIK Alberta Premium sometimes releases some extremely old expressions (I recall a 30yr old), which for some reason sell for stupidly low prices. Those I need to track down at some point.

[meadeweber]

I'm glad you enjoyed it Darin.  I have never had it but I do enjoy Canadian whisky and I do enjoy WP.

 

As Kane said, if you run across any age stated releases I would give them a try. 

 

It's a lot higher in price and will be much different but have you sought out a bottle of Lot 40 Cask Strength?

[Kane]

55 minutes ago, meadeweber said:

 a bottle of Lot 40 Cask Strength?

OH! Didn't know that was a thing.

[IncredulousNosco]

I'm a fanatic for US released ADL rye. Before moving to Austin I made a couple of trips to Canada. And you can be sure I dropped by the LCBO for the sole purpose of getting my hands on some Albert Premium. I downed the 1L bottle and I can't say I was disappointed...but it isn't great. It's young and thin. It's soft with very little spice, and no wood notes at all witb only the slightest hint of white grape and vanilla. But sweet bubblegum and mild banana is also evident. I didn't hate it, but I felt like I would be so much better if it was higher ABV and a little older. 

 

Most USians are not going to have the chance to try it...but you can try its twin. No, not Alberta Dark. And not even an ADL distillate,  but Hiram Walker's Canadian Club 100% Rye. I had it SBS with AP and I'll be damned if they're not crazy simmilar. So, if you're curious,  go try that--it's not an expensive experiment.  

 

And now, here is what may be one of the only bottles of AP in freakin' Texas:

 

 

Ignore that delicious but creepy older fellow in the background. 

[Paddy]

^^^Good call on the CC, IN!  I too am a fan boy of the Canadian distillate.  I found a clearance priced, honey hole of the CC 100% rye earlier this year.  Yes, it's a bit thin, but it's a perfectly serviceable 100% rye that can be taken neat very easily.  It's also a great bang for the buck representation of the HW/Corby style.  I bought one out of curiosity, sampled it, then promptly went back and cleared the shelf (at $12 and change)!

 

Several years ago, I also found a honey hole of the '12 Lot 40, also on clearance.  Needless to say, my bunker's loaded up!  It's funny to me how the Lot 40 pricing  literally scraped the bottom of the barrel, then (seemingly rediscovered) promptly jumped back up approximately 33% (in my market) a couple of years ago.  Fortunately, with the most recent release, it does seem to have settled back into a 'happy medium' price point.   

 

I also keep a few bottles of WP on hand at all times.  I don't like the price, but I do like what's in the bottle.     

 

 

[tanstaafl2]

On ‎11‎/‎6‎/‎2017 at 10:11 AM, meadeweber said:

It's a lot higher in price and will be much different but have you sought out a bottle of Lot 40 Cask Strength?

Have you seen this south of the border yet? I tried it at Whiskyfest with Don Livermore (quite nice) but he wasn't very encouraging of our chances to find it anytime soon in the US. In fact he was downright discouraging.

[meadeweber]

17 hours ago, tanstaafl2 said:

Have you seen this south of the border yet? I tried it at Whiskyfest with Don Livermore (quite nice) but he wasn't very encouraging of our chances to find it anytime soon in the US. In fact he was downright discouraging.

No.  I had my friend in Toronto pick up a couple bottles for me.  I have not received them yet.  

 

I also drank it with Dr. Livermore and I thought it was great but I like Canadian more than most.

[oknazevad]

The reason the Canadian Club 100% Rye is so similar to the Alberta Premium is because they are essentially the same thing. The CC is in fact ADL distillate.

 

Remember, while the CC brand might have originated at the Hiram Walker distillery in Windsor, ON, the two no longer share common ownership. The distillery is owned by Pernod, ownership of which also gives them controlling half-ownership of Corby, which also owns the Wisers brand. The Hiram Walker company had bought that share during the Depression; Corby itself had merged with Wiser's at the tail end of WWI, and consolidated operations at the Corby distillery in Corbyville, ON. That plant closed in 1989, not long after the Hiram Walker Distillery was bought by Allied Domecq. (The Gooderham and Worts distillery in Toronto, which was also part of the same company, closed around this time as well.) Since then all Wiser's and Corby have been made in Windsor.

 

Later, as part of the antitrust approvals needed to buy out Allied Domecq in 2005, Pernod had to sell off some brands, many of which were purchased by Beam. That included the Canadian Club brand. Why they sold the flagship brand of their newly acquired distillery instead of the secondary brands like Wiser's is beyond me, but it may have been required based on market share. (That is also the same transaction that lead to Beam's ownership of Maker's Mark, by the way.) Since then, Canadian Club (which is distinct in having the different whiskies blended before aging, unlike most Canadian blends) has continued to be made at Hiram Walker, but as part of a contract between Pernod and Beam. (Also made under contract there is  Gibson's, which is owned by Wm. Grant & Sons) A day may come when no Canadian Club is made there anymore.

 

But, more importantly for this discussion, there's no requirement that the Canadian Club land be used only for Hiram Walker Distillery-made whisky, and Beam does own another Canadian distillery, namely ADL. That they used the well known Canadian Club label for ADL whisky in the US is just smart marketing. And the other thing to remember about ADL whiskies is that, while they are made from nothing but rye grain, they still follow the traditional Canadian method of using a high proof base spirit with a lower proof flavoring whisky, they just make their base whisky from rye instead of corn like most.