Alberta Premium

This is one of my staple mixing whiskies. Very nice and enjoyable, and a touch dry by comparison to some others at the same level. It hold its own quite well in a cocktail.

@talexander, this is from 100% rye mash, except for whatever additives might be thrown in, and I do suspect that there are some, caramel mostly. I like this whisky a lot and gave it a good review score, but note that batches of it vary a good deal in my experience with respect to their sweetness. The bottle I reviewed was the driest Alberta Premium I have tried from at least three batches, and the one I like the best of the three. I do not believe that the sweeter batches get their sweetness entirely from the wood, and I feel that this seemingly artificial flavour detracts from their overall quality. I would consider the drier batches to be quite sippable, but would be more inclined to think of the sweeter batches as mixers.

I would rate this whisky, on average, a few points higher - but, I have never quite understood all the fuss about it. It is good to hear about batch variation within this one, as I have had at least 6 different bottlings of AP from at least 3 batches, I think - and never would I describe it as outstanding. Good, for sure, but not great. I guess I'll have to keep tasting until I get a better batch! @dbk, one of my staple mixers too...

FYI if I reviewed it today I would totally rate it higher.

I think overall my ratings for this across all my tastings are around 80-82, but hearing about spicier and dryer batches (as @Victor mentions) does make me want to find some of those. I did a side by side tasting of masterson's and AP and Alberta Springs - interesting to see the similarities - it really does bring out the quality of spirit that is mixed into AP (it really is remarkable the quality of whiskies coming from Alberta Distillery). However, I still have yet to find a bottle I'd rate much higher than 80.