Since my recent arrival in Canada, the first thing on my bucket list was to get a good Canadian whiskey. My buddies from Instagram literally pointed me to the shelf where the Alberta Premiums were stacked. I looked closely and realized what they were actually asking me to buy, the Alberta Premium Cask Strength Limited Edition that were neatly arranged in the middle, I had to have it! although I had no idea that the most controversial whiskey of 2021 was in my hand.
A little about the distillery, before we get on with the whiskey, Alberta Premium is owned by Beam Suntory which makes its whisky using Canadian Rye grain. For those who do not know, Beam Suntory, as the name suggests, is an American sub subsidiary of Suntory Holdings Osaka, Japan.
Another known interesting fact about this Canadian distiller is that WhistlePig sources their whiskey from them for some of their Rye products because of Alberta Premium’s 100 % Rye mash bill, making Alberta Distillers “Canada’s own MGP”.
Coming back to our Whiskey, the controversy arose when Jim Murray from the WhiskyBible declared the Alberta Premium Cask Strength as the best whisk(e)y of 2021, although not doubting their merit, there wasn’t a single Scotch Whisky in the top 3 listings. Furthermore, the comments used by Murray caused Beam Suntory to reconsider his endorsement, stating that they were disappointed by the language he used in his reviews as they were considered to be quite sexist.
The Alberta Premium Cask Strength is bottled at 63.9 – 66 % ABV and I was fortunate enough to lay my hands on the 66 % one.
Nose: this Whiskey has a sweet caramel and fruity wine note. Although due to the ABV percentage the alcohol gets to the head.
Palate: As suggested by many Whisk(e)y enthusiasts, adding some drops of water in a Cask Strength pour is actually a preferable, but being a bit audacious, I tried it without water first.
After taking a sip, one cannot keep it inside the mouth for long, it just warms up inside. I picked up some Toffee and wood notes, after adding water it opened up with more prominent notes of rye and spice.
Finish: The finish on this dram was smooth but not smooth enough, one feels the burn towards the end, which I assume is the case with most of the Cask strengths out there. It does have a sweet aftertaste with a bit of peppery heat.
Ending this experience on a pleasant note, I was not at all disappointed with this Limited-Edition Bottle, even the price was quite affordable for one. Although some say that the previous batch Cask strength was better, but to each their own.
My advice to you: BUY TWO IF YOU SEE ONE!!!!
Cheers!!!
From the Audacious Gentleman
Ig: @the_audacious_gent