Grain

Anyone walking through the warehouses of Alberta Distillers in Calgary sees almost a single grain: rye. About ninety percent of it comes directly from Alberta itself. The rest comes from the rest of the Canadian prairie belt. No corn, no large quantities of foreign grain, just the hardy grain that thrives well in the province's dry fields.

Most Canadian whiskies are blends of a mild corn-based base whisky and a spicy rye flavoring whisky. The two only come together after aging, just as in neighboring Ontario. Alberta Distillers took a different path as early as 1958. As a "single grain" whisky, Alberta Premium is made entirely of rye, with no corn whatsoever in the recipe.

This is made possible by Canadian law, which sets almost no restrictions on grain. Whisky can be mashed from virtually any grain. The only requirement is that it be mashed and distilled in Canada and aged for at least three years in small wooden barrels. Hardly any other distillery uses this freedom as consistently for pure rye as the one in Calgary.

How the hard grain even becomes fermentable sugar, despite the fact that Calgary uses almost no barley malt, only becomes clear at the next stop. Suffice it to say for now: the path there doesn't lead through the kiln, but through a laboratory.

In High River, Highwood Distillers also processes prairie grain, but alongside it uses other raw materials for a broader lineup that extends all the way to Caribbean rum. While Calgary focuses on the purity of a single grain, High River bets on variety across its range.