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Alberta Premium 25 Year Old

Fabulously Dry

2 396

@JasonHambreyReview by @JasonHambrey

28th Sep 2015

0

  • Nose
    ~
  • Taste
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  • Finish
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  • Balance
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  • Overall
    96

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Distribution of ratings for this: brand user

This whisky, a 25 year old 100% rye whisky, is undoubtedly one of the most unique bottlings in the modern era of whisky. It was bottled in 2006, from distillate at least 25 years old at one of the foremost, if not the foremost, rye distillery in the world, Alberta Distillers. It sold in 2007 for an astounding price of less than 30 dollars - in hindsight almost a free giveaway, and there are stories of great competition for the bottles that were available in Ontario - preceding what now is all too common of a phenomena. There were between 5000 and 6000 bottles produced, and from time to time rumours circulate of another batch, but still no other batch has been released, nor is there any clear indication of another batch to come at this time.

I can't thank @paddockjudge enough for being the means for me to both have a sample of this and now to have a bottle of it.

Nose: If you know the standard Alberta Premium, this is clearly that - but yet entirely different, and so much better. Much like if you smell a 12 year old and a (good) 18 year old of the same distillate, you are able to sit in wonder at what time in wood can do. Orange peel, caramel, rich wood, leather, vanilla, musty wood, deep molasses notes as in old rums, there is some dustiness to it as well, and sugars and oak seem to come out as it sits. Yet, despite all the wood, it is surprisingly fresh. And the nose grows, too - come back to it after a taste and you sense more of the dryness, more of what those years in oak do. With time, you get sitting grain - as you might find if you were to store rye in a mason jar and as the smell fills the jar pop the lid off and breath in. Oh so rich and dry....it's one of those noses you remember. 95%

Taste: Mouthcoating, with a wonderful balance of light vanilla, light spices, oak and wood which evolves in the mouth, and the lightest hint of berry fruitiness lifting the entire experience out. Rye is there, distinctively as well, not overcome by oak but leading the way in fact with light spices - clove, cinnamon - coming out in a flurry at the end. It's long, and you can certainly make little sips go a long way. In little patches, you get little tastes of the arugula seen so clearly in the bold rye they use in the blends (seen in detail in bottlings like Masterson's, Whistlepig, of Jefferson's). 98%

Finish: Strawberries, oak, vanilla, leather. It is "smooth" in feel - I'm not talking about the undefined, over-used word to describe spirits as "smooth" but actually in the sense that it coats the mouth and seems to linger there nicely with almost a lubricating texture. The tannins are present ever so lightly to further enhance texture. The length is reasonable, but could have been enhanced had this been bottled above 40% - I can only wonder what 46% would have done to this one! 93%

Conclusion: Complex, rich, and subtle - magnificent. This is a whisky that interacts with you - in almost a teasing fashion as you think the twists and turns are over to only discover more and more... the best Canadian whisky I have ever tried. Between the rich dry notes and the balance, it is a fabulous bottling. 98%

Weighting the nose 25%, the taste 35%, the finish 20%, and intrigue 20%, the final score is 96

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3 comments

@Nozinan
Nozinan commented

I don't know if here is anyone who appreciates the older APs more than @paddockjudge. It is almost as if it is his mission to spread the word to the world about this now extremely rare and excellent rye.

I am as thankful as you are for the samples of 25 and 39 that I got to try, and the bottle of 30 that made its way to Toronto.

And my thanks to him for introducing me to great Canadian whisky, and to you for this review.

8 years ago 0

@Frost
Frost commented

@JasonHambrey thank you for the review, it reads as simply essential

8 years ago 0

@JasonHambrey
JasonHambrey commented

well, I would think so - if you can find it anywhere! I have only had little bits of this but very grateful for the bottle I have in stock now.

8 years ago 0

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