Alberta Premium facts for kids
| Type | Rye whiskey |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Alberta Distillers Limited |
| Country of origin | Canada |
Alberta Premium (produced by Alberta Distillers Ltd, of Calgary, Alberta, Canada) is one of the few remaining 100% rye grain rye whiskies produced in North America. The brand is owned by Beam Suntory
Alberta Premium won "Canadian Whisky of the Year" in Jim Murray's 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2021 Whisky Bibles.
The whisky is quite strongly flavoured for a Canadian whisky, and could be considered less approachable (analogously to the Islay malts in the Scotch whisky domain). There is a distinctively firm, somewhat acid note from the rye grain, which distinguishes Alberta Premium to any taster in a blind lineup of Canadian Whiskies. Unlike its 10-year-old blended stablemate, Alberta Springs, Alberta Premium is only aged for five years – perhaps accounting for some of the comparative feistiness.
Originally, Alberta Premium was 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 Untied States as well. Despite its unique composition, it occupies the same shelving and price bracket as the staple Canadian whisky brands.
Although blurred out for copyright reasons, the distinctive bottle (and some parts of the label uncensored) can be seen in the Trailer Park Boys series as Jim Lahey's (John Dunsworth) brand of choice. In the episode "Jump the Cheeseburger" (S07E07), the label on Lahey's bottle reads "Jeddore Premium", a fictitious brand in an Alberta Premium bottle. Jeddore is a small community in Nova Scotia near Cole Harbour where Trailer Park Boys is filmed.
