Tasting Notes - Alberta Premium 30 Year Old

From the Canadian mid-West comes a fantastic spirit.  One of the few 100% rye grain distilleries left in Canada, Alberta Premium still distills and ages it's own distillate in the dry climate of the province from which it takes it's name.  'Why Alberta?', I hear you ask.  Why not use the best grains produced from your own province, available to you right at your door step.  And to this day, Alberta Distillers is one of the largest purchasers of rye grains, and the largest unmalted rye distiller in the world.

What does this mean to you as a Canadian?  Well simply put, you'll have access to the best rye whisky money can buy.  Although, this is limited to 700 cases, you'll need to be quick to get a bottle.  Especially at only $50!

The story behind the bottling is that in the 80's a new distiller came on site and some special casks were put down.  Left alone for 25-26 years, the casks quietly imparted the charred Canadian oak flavors onto the spirit.  In 2007, they were sampled and found to be a little short in the ABV department, and were moved to a second set of smaller casks.  As it turns out the angels are quite thirsty out west, and as such the Angel's share is quite high.  This means that aging a single cask for 30 years is almost impossible as the final spirit may actually end up below 80 proof, no longer making it legal whisky.  So after 30 long years, the spirit was tasted and approved and 700 cases of 12 bottles each were produced and shipped out.

So was the wait worth the cost?  Seriously?  Are you questioning this?  The spirit itself is incredible. Rich and deep on the tongue, an illustrious whisky that deserves your recognition.  Lets delve into the tasting notes.

Colour:  Rich golden/honey colour, highlights of walnut/mahogany, doesn't appear to have colour added

Body:  Big, fat, enormous drops.  Looks like those fat rain drops at the beginning of a June rainstorm.  Legs are extraordinarily thick, run very, very slowly back to the liquid.  Yeah, this is looking like its going to be a wallop of flavor!


Nose:  Incredible depth!  Deep oak, butter cream icing, heavy cream, hints of motor oil (that sour and heavy, almost grease note), ground flax, aged rye

grains (like the smell of aging grains in a silo), dried apricots, and fresh plums.  As this is an older lady, she will take a lot of time to open up and the nose will benefit from settling in the glass over some time.

Palette: Thin and subtle to start, almost seemingly reserved.  The flavours and scents are soft and interwoven through the spirit.  Gentle violets and flowery notes begin to appear as the whisky opens up.  Then it almost hits a tipping

point, and pours out of the gates!  The motor oil scent comes back as a base note with wafts of dill and green herbs, oily nuts (think Brazil nuts), worked oak (like a wood shop), and buckwheat honey.  Vanilla now takes the supporting note of the background while HP sauce (yeah, seriously), ripe plums and sawdust, hints of clove and dried ginger, white cedar wood, and baked oats (like crumble topping).  Oddly enough I also seem to find  that the HP sauce element compliments the violet notes and buckwheat honey flavours in the body.  The

complexity and depth seems to go on forever!  I believe that this is one of those whiskies that would keep developing for an hour or two, but I can never seem to keep enough in my glass to last that long.

Finish:  Wow!  This is long and drawn out; much like a Stanley Kubrick film - it's drawn out to force the watcher to pay attention to the subtle details.  Subtle oak and caramel are woven through the finish.  Notes of burnt toast and

charred cherry wood.  Hints of cracked pepper, burnt sugar and roasted rye are peppered across the palette.  There is an enduring warmth and oiliness that coats the mouth and throat, making the finish go on forever and ever.

Empty Glass:  This is where the oak shows through!  Oiled oak (like in an old library filled with wood shelves), burnt toffee and baked applesauce.  There is a  charred cherry wood note present that offers a slight hint of sweet and sour to the glass. Again notes of aged grains (think farm silos), and at the very end there are notes of butter (like fresh butter), and oak sawdust.

Should you happen to run across a bottle, grab it!  Or better yet, grab a couple (claim the second one is a present for someone).  This is an incredible expression of a classic Canadian rye whisky.  The depth and nose alone are reason alone to purchase this.  Check your local LCBO and order a bottle into your local location if need be.  Or should you have a connection out west, have them grab a bottle for you!