Tasting

Anyone tasting a genuine Alberta rye for the first time immediately notices the difference from a mild Canadian blend. Pepper, clove, and a bold grainy spiciness take center stage. Alongside them come floral and fruity notes that pure rye brings along. No other Canadian whisky tastes so unmistakably of grain.

Alberta Premium, in the lineup since 1958, shows this style in its most approachable form. Spice and fruit meet a banana-like sweetness in the background. Floral notes and a slightly leathery finish round it off. For many, this is their very first encounter with a pure rye whisky.

Alberta Premium Cask Strength Rye takes it a step further: undiluted straight from the barrel, at well over 60 percent alcohol. In 2021, Jim Murray's Whisky Bible named this very bottling "World Whisky of the Year." It also won double gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition and picked up awards at the Canadian Whisky Awards.

Both bottlings come from the same house, Alberta Distillers in Calgary. Yet the difference in strength noticeably transforms the character. The cask-strength version almost always calls for a splash of water to open up. Otherwise, the alcohol masks the finer nuances.

A nosing glass with a narrow opening captures the aromas best. A few drops of still water at room temperature then release clove and blossom from the high-proof spirit. Anyone who noses it neat first, then dilutes it afterward, notices most clearly just how much power a single drop of water holds.