The Rum Howler Blog

(A Website for Spirited Reviews)

  • Copyright

    Copyright is inherent when an original work is created. This means that the producer of original work is automatically granted copyright protection. This copyright protection not only exists in North America, but extends to other countries as well. Thus, all of the work produced on this blog is protected by copyright, including all of the pictures and all of the articles. These original works may not be copied or reused in any way whatsoever without the permission of the author, Chip Dykstra.

  • Cocktails and Recipes

    Click Image for Awesome Recipes

  • Industry Interviews

    Interviews

    Click the Image for Great Interviews with the Movers of Industry

  • The Rum Howler Interview (Good Food Revolution)

    Click on the Image to see my interview on Good Food Revolution

  • The Rum Howler Blog

    Unknown's avatar

  • Rum Reviews

  • Whisky Reviews

  • Gin Reviews

  • Tequila Reviews

  • Vodka Reviews

  • Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

    Join 1,090 other subscribers

  • Subscribe

  • Visitors

    • 15,424,367 pageviews since inception

  • Archives

  • Follow The Rum Howler Blog on WordPress.com

Posts Tagged ‘Alberta Premium’

Next Entries »

Review: Alberta Premium 100 % Rye Whisky

Posted by Arctic Wolf on September 8, 2016

Alberta PremiumAlberta Distillers Limited (ADL) own the oldest distillery in Western Canada. It is situated in Calgary Alberta and has been producing spirits in the same location for well over 60 years. The distillery is part of the Beam/Suntory portfolio.Alberta Premium is the flagship whisky of Alberta Distillers Limited (ADL), and according to the Beam/Suntory Brands website:

This whiskey is made by Alberta Distillers in the heart of Canada’s rye-growing country where cold barren winters give way to an abundant crop of the finest rye. Made by blending two aged whiskies, one of which is aged for flavor in used bourbon casks. Then, after blending, it is aged some more. Alberta Premium is aged for 5 years. The slow aging in cold temperatures preserves the natural rye spice.

I was recently given a bottle of Alberta Premium by a guest at one of my tasting events and I thought I would revisit my review of this 100 % Canadian Rye Whisky.

Here is a link to my new review:

Review: Alberta Premium 100 % Rye Whisky

 ” … The breezes above the glass bring me the scents and smells of a fruit-filled rye with additional notes of vanilla. Fine oak spices and a touch of citrus zest mingle within the fruity rye smells. As I allow the whisky to breathe, some nice smells of butterscotch and maple come forward and the overt fruitiness gains momentum. I receive impressions of canned apricots and pears from the glass, and  I also sense a light touch of almond in the breeze …”

Please enjoy my review of this fine 100 % rye whisky which tastes better now than it did 6 years ago when I first reviewed it.

Chimo!

Posted in Canadian Whisky, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Alberta Premium 100 % Rye Whisky

Dennis’ Cocktail: Whoa Dennis!

Posted by Arctic Wolf on September 7, 2016

I mentioned two days ago that my good friends Ally and Dennis just got married, and that I was honoured to have been asked to design/recommend the signature cocktails for the reception and banquet. Earlier this week I shared Ally’s Cocktail, the Bluebird of Happiness, and today I am going to share with you Dennis’s Cocktail, Whoa Dennis!

Dennis is a huge fan of both Rye Whisky and Dark Caribbean Rum. He is also very fond of both Lemon and Grapefruit Juice, and earlier this year I happened upon a recipe put together by Lally Brennan and Ti Adelaide Martin ( In the Land of Cocktails) (with the assistance of Ted Haigh (Dr. Cocktail)) which seemed ideal for my purpose. Their recipe Whoa Nellie! seemed ideal as it combined all of the ingredients Dennis loved with a small hit of sweetener and a few dashes of Fees Cocktail Bitters.

Whoa Nellie SAM_2398

Whoa Dennis!

I needed to make only one very small change. All of the suggested constructions for the Brennan and Martin Cocktail I found online called for American Rye Whiskey, whereas I knew that Dennis (and  I too) preferred Canadian Rye Whisky. So I invited Ally and Dennis over, and I made him the cocktail with a particular rye whisky that Dennis is extremely fond of, Alberta Premium 100 % Rye Whisky.

Whether this one change (which perhaps isn’t really a change at all) warranted a renaming of the cocktail is open to debate. But when Ally insisted, I agreed that the cocktail could be renamed for one day.

Whoa Dennis!

1 1/2 oz Rye Whiskey (Alberta Premium 100% Rye)
1/2 oz Dark Rum (Coruba Dark Jamaican Rum)
1/2 oz Orange Liqueur (Cointreau)
1/3 oz Grapefruit Juice
1/3 oz Lemon Juice
a few dashes of Bitters (Fees Cocktail Bitters)
1/3 oz Sugar Syrup
Ice
Grapefruit Twist

Add the ingredients into a metal shaker with plenty of ice
Shake until the outside of the shaker begins to frost
Strain into a cocktail glass
Garnish with a twist of Grapefruit

Please Enjoy Responsibly!

And if  you are interested in more recipes, please click this link (Cocktails and Recipes) for my mixed drink recipes!

________________________________________________________

Please note: I took this oppertunity to revisit Alberta Premium Rye Whisky and my new review will publish tomorrow.

Chimo!

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes | Tagged: , , , , | Comments Off on Dennis’ Cocktail: Whoa Dennis!

#1 Alberta Premium 25 Year Old Canadian Rye (Rum Howler Top 100 Spirits)

Posted by Arctic Wolf on December 24, 2015

Alberta Premium 25 Year Old Canadian Rye Whisky was produced by Alberta Distillers Limited (ADL) (currently owned by Beam/Suntory). in 2006. The whisky went relatively unnoticed by everyone until Jim Murray (who publishes his famous yearly Whisky Bible) proclaimed that it was pretty darn good. (He named it Canada’s Best whisky in 2008) Despite the accolades the spirit received from whisky pundits (after Jim noticed it), in my home Province of Alberta consumers kept disregarding the whisky, and it never really brought the distillery (ADL) the notoriety it deserved locally (that came later with the release of the Alberta Premium 30 Year Old) five years later.

And I suppose that I have been a major beneficiary of the Alberta Premium 25 Year Old Whisky’s low profile. You see, when I travel through small towns in rural Alberta, I still occasionally find a few bottles here and there. (For a modest $29.95 no less.) When I find a dusty bottle hiding out in a bottom shelf of a rural retail store I feel it is my duty to pick it up so that I can give it a more deserving pedestal upon my whisky shelf.

Alberta Premium 25 Year Old SAM_1728To the right is my most recent acquisition, and when I re-tasted it alongside all of my favourites this past summer I found that this modestly priced spirit sat alone on top of my rankings. The Alberta Premium 25 Year Old is a spirit which brings all the goodness of Canadian Rye to the fore, yet despite its bold and spicy flavour, it is also deeply complex spirit which carries layer after layer of nuanced subtlety for the whisky connoisseur to enjoy.

The Alberta Premium 25 Year Old Whisky is the best spirit I have tasted to this point in my spirits journey.

#1 – Alberta Premium 25 Year Old Canadian Rye Whisky

” … I love a paradox, and here we have a beauty. Rye is spicy, and grabs your taste-buds and won’t let go. Here we all that rye flavour; but, instead of burning your mouth with spice, this sits gently and smoothly on the palate. In fact this is one of the smoothest whiskies I have ever tasted. Earthy, spicy rye flavour first, second and third, and only the lightest hint of toffee sits in the mouth. This is rye whisky as it is meant to be …”

________________________________________________________________

Note: I chose not to re-score my original review written six years ago, although if I had, I may very well have awarded my first 98.

You may find my complete Countdown list of the 100 Best Spirits here: The Rum Howler 2015 – Top 100 Spirits

Posted in Awards, Canadian Whisky, Extras, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Comments Off on #1 Alberta Premium 25 Year Old Canadian Rye (Rum Howler Top 100 Spirits)

#11 Alberta Premium 30 Year Old (Rum Howler Top 100 Spirits)

Posted by Arctic Wolf on December 14, 2015

When the Alberta Premium 30 Year Old Limited Edition Rye Whisky hit the store shelves in June of 2011 it caused quite a furor. A fully aged 30 Year Old whisky (the oldest 100 % Rye Whisky ever produced) and it was on sale in most retail locations for a ridiculously low $49.95. Within weeks of its release the 30 Year Old Whisky was sold out almost everywhere.

Alberta Premium 30 (with Rye)I still have a few bottles which I treasure, and although they were inexpensive, I prize them as highly (or perhaps maybe even more highly) than my much more expensive well aged Single Malt scotches. That is because this whisky is simply better than almost every one of them. Price does not dictate quality, care and attention do. And this whisky is the proof of that.

Here is a link to my review of the #11 Spirit in my Rum Howler 2015 Top 100 Spirits Countdown:

#11 – Alberta Premium 30 Year Old Limited Edition Rye Whisky

“… I was greeted with a wonderful mellow rye accented by caramel oak syrup! I have tasted so many aged spirits where the oak turns to bitter sap and smothers the other flavours, but not here. Instead the oak has melted into the rye creating a subdued, sweet and spicy elixir that has my mouth begging for another sip. And under it all is that accent of corn holding the oak and rye together. But there is much more …”

________________________________________________________________

You may follow my Countdown list of the 100 Best Spirits here: The Rum Howler 2015 – Top 100 Spirit

Posted in Awards, Canadian Whisky, Extras, Whisk(e)y, Whisk(e)y Review | Tagged: , , , , , , | Comments Off on #11 Alberta Premium 30 Year Old (Rum Howler Top 100 Spirits)

Next Entries »