Alberta Distillers Released the Rare Stuff - Cask Strength and 20 Year Old Reviews

Alberta Distillers has new limited released out—Cask Strength Rye and a 20 Year Old. And I got samples! Like many of Canada’s large distilleries, Alberta Distillers is an enigma of delicious whisky. 

They’re known for selling Alberta Premium, a well-priced whisky that’s found in most markets in Canada. It’s made of 100% rye grain. Very few people like the bottle shape. However, among whisky enthusiasts, this is a legendary distillery and any old liquid from here is considered precious. 

Within an inner crowd of Canadians and an exclusive number of Americans, they’re known for releasing Alberta Premium 25 Year Old and 30 Year Old Rye some years back. These releases are still talked about in inner circles. 

Most of the awards this distillery won were bottled elsewhere, including Masterson’s Rye and WhistlePig. Even Little Book Release 2 takes its core flavour profile from old barrels of Alberta Distillers whisky. To be fair, though, Alberta Premium’s standard release gets plenty of awards. 

So when this distillery releases two products that are under one-hundred dollars, it’s time to pay attention. When it’s limited to Alberta’s market, it’s time to be sad if you don’t live within a drive of Alberta. 

Undoubtably, both these whiskies will become legendary releases. Considering the gap from the last time we’ve seen a limited release, we can’t hold our breath until our next release. 

I’ve tasted many whiskies from this distillery, most often under other labels, and I can say this is a great range of two special releases that come at a good price. You won’t get the heavy new oak profiles found elsewhere, and that’s okay, because they weren’t aiming for that profile. These are Canadian style ryes released under a strong (but maybe sometimes under-appreciated) Canadian brand. 

Alberta Premium Cask Strength Rye 65.1%
Distillery: Alberta Distillers
Category: Canadian Whisky, Cask Strength, Rye
Score: 88

Nose: Noses like a cherry liqueur—plenty cherry caramel sweetness. It’s woody. It’s rye forward. It has buttery notes. There’s that raw barnyard note from the oak. The caramel note is intense. Like many high proof whiskies, there’s not a lot on the nose, but what’s there is great. 

Palate: Nice freshly crushed rye spice (verging on smoked paprika), orange spice, and terrific buttery caramel finish. This is Alberta Premium at heart, with a nice biting cask strength peppery bite. The cherry sweet note comes through.

Conclusion: From nose to palate, this is an intense ride for an affordable cask strength whisky. If you’re used to cask strength whiskies, you’ll be in a terrific place with this. 

Alberta Premium 20 Year Old Limited Edition 42% ABV
Distillery: Alberta Distillers
Category: Canadian Whisky, Rye, 20 Year Old 
Score: 86

Nose: Noses light and airy, with lots of candied orange citrus (the soft candy type), and very identifiable red (sherry?) wine characteristic that seem a touch out-of-place (for the record, there’s no mention of wine casks in the description). Caramel notes are light, distant, but a sweet vanilla is prominent. There’s little rye to this nose, but there is that airy “perfume” note. The “old barrel” note is definitely there, but the sweet note that reminds of of wine is distracting. 

Palate: The rye comes through beautifully on the palate with a terrific peppery spice that is carried over with caramel sweetness, and a nice buttery texture. The finish is exceptionally long and pleasant. I still get touches of wine-like sweetness, but unlike on the nose, the sweetness settles beautifully on the palate and carries through plenty of terrific flavours. It’s definitely got the butteriness of an old whisky. It’s one of those whiskies that sits on the palate.

Conclusion: Been an odd one to score because of how light and airy the nose is, and in contrast on how wonderfully intense the drink is on the palate. This might be purely personal bias, but it noses like a bottom-shelf whisky with notes of wine sweetness that takes away from some of the rye note. On the flip-side, the palate is beautiful, subtle, and the finish is pretty incredible. For me, when in doubt, lean to the lower of the two scores unless the nose and palate make sense. However, if you’re more focused on palate than nosing, this will be great. For the price-point at this age it’s an easy buy.