Alberta Premium (produced by Alberta Distillers Ltd, of

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

) is one of the few remaining 100%

rye Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is grown principally in an area from Eastern and Northern Europe into Russia. It is much more tolerant of cold weather and poor soil than o ...

grain rye whiskies produced in North America. The brand is owned by

Suntory Global Spirits Suntory Global Spirits Inc., formerly known as Beam Suntory, Inc., is an American beverage company that is a subsidiary of Suntory Holdings, a Japanese multinational beverage conglomerate. The company produces alcoholic beverages. It is the th ...

, a subsidiary of

Suntory Holdings (commonly referred to as simply Suntory) is a Japanese multinational brewing and distilling company group. Established in 1899, it is one of the oldest companies in the distribution of alcoholic beverages in Japan, and makes Japanese whisky. ...

Osaka, Japan is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third-most populous city in Japan, following the special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a populatio ...

. Alberta Premium won "Canadian Whisky of the Year" in Jim Murray's 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2021 Whisky Bibles. Introduced in 1958, Alberta Premium was originally only available in Canada, until its launch of their cask strength rye whiskey. Following the success of that product, they decided to introduce the original to the United States as well. Despite its unique composition, it occupies the same shelving and price bracket as the staple

Canadian whisky Canadian whisky is a type of whisky produced in Canada. Most Canadian whiskies are Blended whiskey, blended multi-grain liquors containing a large percentage of corn spirits and are typically lighter and smoother than other whisky styles.

brands.

Production process

The process uses 100% Canadian Prairie rye grain that is unmalted. The rye grain is ground to a fine flour by a hammer mill at the distillery. This meal is added to water, the mash is exposed to a proprietary enzyme, cooked, and fermented. The resulting liquid is distilled using two different distillation types - continuous distillation and the pot still. The liquid is aged in three different barrel sources: ex-bourbon barrels, once-used bourbon barrels, and the new white oak charred barrels. It is then blended to create the final liquor. The blended rye whiskey is believed to be five years old; the age is not stated on the bottle label.

Company history

Alberta Distillers Limited was started in 1946 by Canadian oilman Frank McMahon and Canadian newspaper publisher

Max Bell George Maxwell Bell (October 13, 1911 – July 19, 1972) was a Canadian newspaper publisher, race horse owner and philanthropist. He was best known as the co-founder of FP Publications, Canada's largest newspaper syndicate in the 1960s. He bui ...

, built on 23 acres of land on what was then the outskirts of Calgary, Alberta. George Conrad Reifel, a Canadian brewer and distiller who had worked in Japan to establish the Anglo Japanese Brewing Company, joined the company to assist with the complex process of distilling rye. By 1957, the distillery expanded to have three heat-controlled warehouses and contained upwards of 100,000 barrels of aging whiskies on over 28 acres of land. In 1967, National Distillers & Chemical Corporation purchased Alberta Distillers to expand their own liquor portfolio. Alberta Distillers was sold off after Standard & Poor gave a negative outlook for whiskey. By 1975, the plant site grew to 42 acres in Calgary. The final warehouse construction gave the distillery storage for over 600,000 barrels. The site is one of the few in Canada that can age barrels in both rack and pallet style warehouses. With two rail spurs onsite, the distillery can ship and receive by rail, ISO tankers, and tanker trailers. In 1986, Alberta Distillers was purchased by

American Brands Fortune Brands was a holding company founded in 1969 as American Brands, renamed in 1997 and split apart in 2011. The corporate headquarters was in Deerfield, Illinois, in the United States. The company had diversified product lines. It announce ...

, which itself was renamed as Fortune Brands in 1997 and split apart in 2011 into

Fortune Brands Home & Security Fortune Brands Innovations, Inc. (or "Fortune Brands") is an American manufacturer of home and security products, headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois. Its portfolio of businesses and brands includes Moen and the House of Rohl; outdoor livin ...

and Beam Inc. Beam Inc. was then purchased by the

Suntory (commonly referred to as simply Suntory) is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational brewing and distilling company group. Established in 1899, it is one of the oldest companies in the distribution of alcoholic beverages in Japan, and ...

multinational holding company of Japan.

References

Suntory brands Canadian whisky Canadian brands Alcohol in Alberta Cuisine of Alberta {{whisky-stub 1946 establishments in Canada

Production process

Company history

See also

References