> Alberta Premium 30 Year Old Limited Edition®
Crisp clean oak and fresh red cedar, ripe fruit, butterscotch, vanilla, grapefruit pith, simmering spices, and dusty rye. A quick explosion of flavour followed by a slow, complex reveal. Rich & Oaky. ★★★★★
> Alberta Premium aged 25 years (40% alc./vol.)
Sweet vanilla pods and fresh-cut lumber. A complex mosaic of flavours from cedar to tropical fruit set on a creamy base with hot pepper and a delicate underlying citric zest. Rich & Oaky. ★★★★★
> Black Velvet aged 3 years (40% alc./vol. (80 proof))
Candy, sweet, dark fruit, cream sherry, pepper and hot spices, dusty, floral rye, spirit, slight zestiness, and hints of fresh wood. Fruity and Spicy. ★★★
> Black Velvet Deluxe (40% alc./vol.)
Creamy caramel and hot pepper. Ripe dark fruit, citric zest, fresh-cut wood and hints of spirit. Mild rye spices – cloves, cinnamon, ginger. A bit under-stated. Spicy Rye. ★★★☆
> Black Velvet Reserve 8 years old (40% abv (80 proof))
Caramel and pepper dominate well-defined fruits, fresh oak, vanilla, rye spices and zesty undertones. Both dusty and oily. Rich and Round. ★★★★
> Bush Pilot’s Private Reserve (43% alc./vol.)
Crisp, clean, Canadian oak. Musty corn, cardboard, gentle caramels and vanilla. Herbal, slightly spicy and quite peppery with a cleansing citric pith. Malty & Dry. ★★★★☆
> Canadian Club 30 year old (40% alc./vol.)
Fragrant and flavourful with sweet dark fruit, loads of fresh-cut wood, hot pepper, and recurring rich tobacco notes. Deceptively complex and surprisingly lively. Rich & Round. ★★★★★
> Canadian Club aged 15 years (40% alc./vol.)
Creamy smooth and full-bodied. Peppery with subtle, understated fresh cedar, black fruits, caramel, musty corn, citric zest, and pith. Soft Corn. ★★★★☆
> Canadian Club aged 20 years (40% alc./vol.)
A weighty, highly integrated, and fruity synthesis of wood, toffee, vanilla, dusty rye, and baking spices, with developing hot pepper, dark fruits, prune juice, and citric zest. Rich & Oaky. ★★★★★
> Canadian Club Classic 12 year old (40% alc./vol.)
Sweet oak caramels and burnt sugar, raisins, prunes, and Christmas cake. Peppery with a slippery creaminess and underlying notes of clean oak. Fruity & Spicy. ★★★☆
> Canadian Club Reserve 10 years old (40% alc./vol.)
Sweet, peppery, and fruity, with a pleasing bitter zest. Hard, flinty, earthy rye tinged with cinnamon and ginger. Nice weight and creamy mouthfeel. Spicy Rye. ★★★★
> Canadian Club Sherry Cask (41.3% alc./vol.) Batch SC-018
Rich and very fruity– from raisins to peaches to berries. Sweet hot tobacco, black tea, pencil shavings, pepper and baking spices. Fruity & Spicy. ★★★★☆
> Canadian Hunter 40% alc./vol. (80 proof)
Faint spirit evolves into robust rye spices with rich butterscotch, hints of dry grain, and ripe dark fruits. Very flavourful and mouth-filling with sizzling pepper, fleshy dark fruits and lime peel. Spicy Rye. ★★★☆
> Canadian Mist (40% alc./vol. (80 proof))
Toffee sweet, vanilla, grassy with citric fruits, and a cleansing bitter lemon zest. Some earthiness, sour mash, rye grain and rye spices, with a youthful spirit. Malty & Dry. ★★★☆
> Canadian Mist Black Diamond (43% alc./vol. (86 proof))
Brio, cola, white pepper, ginger, sultanas, prunes, coconut, grapefruit zest and juice, dry grain, mash, and hints of fresh-cut lumber. Fruity & Spicy. ★★★☆
> Caribou Crossing Single Barrel (40% alc./vol. (80 proof))
Creamy vanilla, a dusting of rye spices, bursts of citrus and a veritable tsunami of fresh-cut wood. Soft Corn. ★★★★★
> Century Reserve 21 year old (40% alc./vol.)
Rich in nuance and suggestion, though muted, this is about as complex as pure corn whisky gets, with bittersweet citric notes, lilacs, spices, fresh-cut wood, and hot pepper. Soft Corn/Rich & Oaky. ★★★★☆
> Chinook 5 year old Canadian Whisky (40% alc./vol.)
Ripe fruit and stewed prunes with vanilla coconut custard, blistering hot spices and a nutty cereal side accented with rose water, dusty roads and hints of oak. Fruity & Spicy. ★★★☆
> Collingwood (40% alc/vol.) Canadian Whisky Review
Dark fruits, Concord grapes, roses and spring flowers with a rich and creamy mouthfeel. Split cherry firewood with earthy rye and tingling hot pepper. Floral & Fragrant. ★★★★
> Crown Royal Black 45% alc./vol. (90 proof)
Rum-soaked Christmas cake. Creamy, with vanilla, hot pepper, ginger, dark fruit, orange bitters, Bourbon, charcoal, oak, and floral notes. Rich and Round. ★★★★
> Crown Royal Cask No. 16 (40% alc./vol.)
Peaches, apricots, Concord grapes and Port wine with rye spices, hot white pepper, peach pits and bitter lemon. Fresh-cut lumber. Fruity & Spicy.★★★★☆
> Crown Royal Fine De Luxe from 1963 (40% alc./vol.)
A complex synthesis of ginger, clove oil, hot white pepper, cedar lumber, and prunes, with fresh spring lilacs and pansies and wilted tobacco. Caramel, vanilla and cooling citric pith. Rich & Oaky. ★★★★★
> Crown Royal Limited Edition (40% abv)
Controlled, elegant, creamy, and balanced with nutmeg, cloves and ginger, hot pepper and peppermint, green and ripe apples, floral bourbon-like vanilla and oak, cereal, and orange bitters. Spicy Rye. ★★★★☆
> Crown Royal XR – Extra Rare (40% alc./vol.)
A rich, weighty, hugely complex and skillfully structured whisky displaying ripe red fruit, fresh-cut oak, hot spices, dry grain, and violets. Rich & Oaky. ★★★★☆
> Danfield’s Limited Edition 21 years old (40% alc./vol.)
Classic rye spices—cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and pepper—all brought together in a lumber yard. Sweet, fragrant wood with a tangy citric zest and lots of weight. Rich & Oaky. ★★★★☆
> Forty Creek Barrel Select (40% alc./vol.)
Creamy, sweet corn whisky with dusty, earthy rye, ripe red fruits, sherry, sweet-and-sour sauce, floral perfume, ginger, cinnamon, hot pepper, and hints of citric peels. Fruity & Spicy. ★★★★
> Forty Creek Confederation Oak Reserve (40% alc./vol.)
Butterscotch, fresh-cut wood, toasted oak and wood smoke. Sweet vanilla, berries, barbeque sauce, mash, granola. Restrained, but full-flavoured. Rich & Round. ★★★★☆
> Forty Creek Double Barrel Reserve (40% alc./vol.)
Toasted oak sugars, vanilla, hot pepper, mustard, and ginger. Lemon cream, sweet- and-sour rye, dry grain, new sawdust, fresh fruit, and a citric zestiness. Almost chewy. Soft Corn. ★★★★☆
> Forty Creek John’s Private Cask No. 1 Review
Bursting gingery spice bombs, dark fruits, clean sweet wood, and crème caramel. A spice
“Monster.” Sultry fruits and dusky rye spices like fireworks in an ancient muggy rainforest. Spicy Rye. ★★★★★
> Gibson’s Finest aged 12 years (40% alc./vol.)
Crème brûlée, oak, cedar, spicy pepper, cloves, citric zest, black fruits, strawberries and cream. Masterfully balanced and seamlessly integrated. Rich & Oaky. ★★★★
> Gibson’s Finest Rare Bourbon Cask (40% alc./vol.)
Creamy, soft, round and smooth. Fresh-cut wood, caramel, and vanilla. Hot peppery spices, a slight saltiness, and gentle citric zest. Mildly floral and fruity. Soft Corn. ★★★★
> Gibson’s Finest Sterling (40% alc/vol)
Rich and creamy mouthfeel with a plethora of sweet fruits and berries, citric zest and pith, a nuttiness, black pepper, and hints of spirit. Soft Corn. ★★★★
> Gibson’s Finest Rare 18 years old (40% alc./vol.)
Sweet, spicy oak and pine sawdust, rich in toffee, vanilla, and hot spicy pepper. Biscuits, with typical rye dustiness, spice, fruit, and just a drop of pickle juice. Rich & Oaky. ★★★★☆
> Glen Breton Battle of the Glen (43% alc./vol.)
A complex interplay of fresh fruit, spring flowers, nutty grain, and hot white pepper all kept in place by the pith of white grapefruit. Floral & Fragrant. ★★★★☆
> Grand Grizzly (40% Alc/Vol)
Black pepper and an earthiness reminiscent of agave spirit give way to hard and gingery rye while citrus zest, with dark fruits, real black pepper, and dashes of pickle juice meld into cold wet slate. ★★★★
> Lord Calvert Canadian (Seagram’s 1970-80s) 40% alc./vol.
Maple butter, vanilla, and butterscotch. Dry wood, shellac, cedar, apricots and lilacs. Fresh-churned butter. Balanced, simple, and very flavourful. Soft Corn. ★★★☆
> Lot 40 (43% alc./vol.)
Rye, rye bread, sour rye, floral rye, hard rye, earthy rye, dusty rye grain, and then sweet citric notes, oranges, hot peppery spices, and tannic wood. Spicy Rye. ★★★★★
> Masterson’s Straight Rye Whiskey (45% alc./vol.)
A carefully crafted panorama of grassy dry grain, moist earth and burlap sacks, along with zingy pepper, blossoming floral vanilla, fragrant leather and tobacco leaves. Spicy Rye. ★★★★★
> Pendleton 1910 Canadian Rye Whisky 40% alc./vol
Butterscotch and maple fudge with cleansing zesty limes. Gingery hot pepper and fresh cooling mint. Crisp charred oak. Rich, weighty, balanced, and ever so complex. Fruity & Spicy. ★★★★☆
> Revel Stoke Spiced Whisky (45% alc/vol (90 proof))
Rich and creamy; smooth as the proverbial baby’s bottom. Vanilla, camphor, cherry cough drops, spicy pepper, and pleasing citric pith. Tasty Spice.
> Rich & Rare Reserve (40% alc./vol. (80 proof))
Full-flavoured and peppery with creamy maple syrup, clean oak, hints of rose petals, dark fruit, and tangy oranges. Fruity and Spicy. ★★★★
> Royal Canadian Small Batch (40% alc/vol (80 proof))
A very sweet fruit smoothie with earthy rye, hints of fresh oak, hot pepper, baking spices, pickle juice, spirit, and refreshing bitter notes. Fruity & Spicy. ★★★☆
> Royal Reserve Canadian Rye Whisky (40% alc./vol.)
Prototypical light and smooth 1970s cocktail whisky. Starts small, gradually becoming complex but subtle, with brittle rye, hot pepper, creamy toffee and lemon zing. Spicy Rye. ★★★☆
> Royal Velvet (40% alc./vol.)
Pine pitch, Canada balsam, butterscotch, clove oil, dusty rye, pickle juice, hot pepper, flowers, and assorted fruits all neatly stitched into one. ★★★★☆
> Seagram’s VO (40% alc./vol.)
Much nuance, many hints. Pepper, ginger and other rye spices, ripe dark fruit, earth, dry grain, floral notes, vanilla, cedar, Fruity & Spicy. ★★★
> Snake River Stampede 8 year old 40% abv (80 proof)
Butterscotch, dusty rye, hot white pepper, dark fruits and ginger. Refreshing citric pith and zest. Creamy smooth, then slightly grippy. Spicy Rye. ★★★★
> White Owl Spiced Whisky (40% alc/vol)
Subtle vanilla, crisp oak, rich butterscotch and subtle rye spices, then hot pepper, lots of citrus pith in the finish with tingling ginger and cloves – a most whisky-like spiced whisky.
> White Owl Whisky 40% alc./vol.
Sprite™, citrus fruit cooler, anise, soft baking spices, butterscotch, hot cayenne, hints of oak tannins. Probably the tastiest white whisky anywhere in the world.
> Wiser’s Legacy: Canadian Whisky Review
Sweet, rich and very spicy with overt rye notes. Cinnamon and cloves, dark fruits, hot peppermint and citric zest. Spectacular. Very highly recommended. ★★★★★
> Wiser’s Small Batch (43.4% alc./vol.)
Big whisky. Cinnamon, cloves, and other rye spices. Dark fruits, vanilla, butterscotch, cedar oil, some earthy tones, and a slight flintiness. Weighty. Spicy Rye. ★★★★☆
> Wiser’s 18 years old, aka Wiser’s Very Old (40% alc./vol.)
Wood, wood, wood, but ever so complex with hot pepper, baking spices, butterscotch, vanilla, rye grain, tobacco, cigar box, sour-dough, and dried baking fruits ending in a citric zestiness. Rich & Oaky. ★★★★★
> Wiser’s Red Letter, 150th Anniversary (45% alc./vol.)
Complex, ever-changing flavours of dry grain, tobacco, Christmas spices, wood smoke, new tires, sour German rye bread, black fruits, cedar and fresh-sawn oak, toffee, vanilla, hot pepper, and bitter grapefruit. Rich & Oaky. ★★★★★
This rye is commonly available in a 13 oz plastic bottle or a 26 oz glass bottle. When buying a whisky that I’ve never tasted before I like the option of buying a small size – but I do not like drinking liquor stored in plastic as the thought of what may leach out disturbs me…
Alberta Springs is a fine well priced rye.
Hi Tim,
I have to say I am not a big fan of plastic bottles either, though more for esthetic reasons. I have never really looked into the possibility of leaching from PET.
Davin
I know from experience that spirits do not retain their original form after being in plastic for x number of years – esp if they are exposed to sunlight. I’ve poured the contents of old mini’s down the drain after taking a sniff and noting odours of deteriorating plastic.
Here’s to distilleries that ONLY use glass!
Yeah, I agree. It is not always the distillery’s choice though. In at least one market, plastic is required for “environmental” reasons for whiskies selling above a certain number of cases. I’ve never kept a plastic bottle long enough to notice the effects that you found with those plastic minis, but there’s another reason to think about going back to glass – “health” reasons.
Interesting that markets can dictate requirements of packaging. Plastic is not good for landfills though – if only everyone recycled!
A couple pro’s for using plastic: significant reduction in weight which lowers distribution costs; significantly fewer broken bottles from cradle to grave, reports of 90% reduction in lost merchandise.
Yes, some buyers exercise considerable clout. I have heard distillers (not just whisky) complaining that when they reach a certain sales volume they have to put their product in plastic for one specific market. I know the buyers mean well, but when have you ever bought a plastic bottle when you wanted to impress a client, host or guest?
Buy the 26oz bottles then — always glass. Problem solved.
Mostly, I have been a scotch drinker. Which I still love.
But recently, being a Canadian, and becoming aware that there are some better Canadian Whiskies evolving out there, I have started sampling some of them.
But next let me say, that my traditional way of drinking whiskey is 1 1/2 oz of whiskey with one ice cube. Which generally produces a lovely drink. For example, with Centennial Rye Whiskey too… an outstanding whiskey it turned out, much to my surprise.
But I’ve got here in front of me this glass, my third dram, of Alberta Springs 10 yr. old. Outstanding. In my opinion, the first Canadian Whiskey I’ve encountered as good as a good scotch. (Though there are still superior to it single malt scotch whiskies.)
But this Albera Springs 10 yr.old is soooo smooth, I’ve stopped drinking it with an ice cube… first time ever. It’s full bouquet and flavour stands better alone. And is still smooth as silk. No harshness.
An outstanding Canadian sipping whiskey. The best I have encountered yet.
I hope this evolution of Canadian Rye Whiskies continues. It is producing some exciting and interesting drinking experiences.
Best yet… Alberta Springs 10 yr old. Move over Scotland, the Canadians are coming.
Hi Jerry,
Thanks for your comment. Clearly you “get it.” Yes, just like you I love Scotch, but you are right; there are quite a few really great Canadian whiskies out there as well. Alberta Springs is one of them, and there are many more.
Davin
I agree with Mr. Munro. I’m 2nd gen. Canadian of Scottish descent and have sampled many fine Scottish whiskeys.
I’d have to say Alberta Springs is the best. especially for the money. But I only buy the glass bottles. Funny thing is the make a large bottle as well 60 pounder is also plastic but the 26 and 40 are glass.
Hi Andy,
Yes, Alberta Premium is good whisky. I am not a fan of plastic bottles either. It creates the wrong image. Merry Christmas.
Davin
By far my favourite Canadian Whiskey.
I’m a big fan of Alberta Springs. I also like Tangle Ridge for a change. I’m wondering why there is no XO version of either of these. I’ve had Gibsons and Wisers 18yo. and they are very good, but I have to wonder how much better Alberta Springs would be if allowed to mature that long…
Things like this do come along every now and then. There was a 25 year old version of Alberta Springs a while back, but it’s long gone now. The next big thing will be the 30 year old Alberta Premium from Alberta Distillers coming late spring or early summer.
I had discovered Alberta Springs10 yr old a few years ago and suddenly it is no longer available at the LCBO in Eastern ON. Where can I find some?!?!?!
Hi Lou,
How annoying. That is really good whisky. Your local LCBO manager can order it for you. They are usually pretty quick. Right now it is in stock at 389 LCBO stores. They have a really good search function on the LCBO website. Maybe one of those other stores is near you. Try this link, and good luck!
Davin
http://www.lcbo.com/lcbo-ear/lcbo/product/inventory/searchResults.do?language=EN&itemNumber=6361
Hi Davin,
This review drew me to your site. Thank you.
I am surprised however to see that a Canadian whisky aficionado like yourself doesn’t have a review up for Glen Breton Rare 10. It’s distilled in Nova Scotia and bills itself as North America’s first single malt. I recently got my hands on a bottle and found it to be a fine contribution to Canada’s whisky identity – but I’m no expert.
Hi Drew,
Thanks for your comment. What a coincidence. I have 9 different Glen Breton versions open and am tasting them in various combinations. Look for a review of Battle of the Glen, my favourite, in the not too distant future.
Davin
Thanks Davin,
That’s great news. I haven’t explored beyond the 10yo expression which I enjoyed. I was disappointed when I heard that Glenora Distillers contracts the malting process to an outside source instead of doing it themselves, but truth be told, outside of Nova Scotia it can be hard to find.
Bought a 375ml of Alberta Springs,best whisky I ever had,sweet as a nut !!!!!!!!!!!