{"product_id":"alberta-premium-dark-horse-canadian-whisky-2014-75cl","title":"Alberta Premium Dark Horse Canadian Whisky (2014) 75cl","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 28px;\"\u003eAlberta Premium Dark Horse Canadian Whisky (2014) 75cl\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlberta Premium Dark Horse is a very distinctive offering in the Canadian landscape.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKnown for their expertise in producing 100% rye whiskies, Alberta Distillers has produced an unusual beast with their Dark Horse (also known as Alberta Rye Dark Batch in the US, due to copyright issues with the dark horse name).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003eThe whisky is a blend of two 100% ryes, a 6 year old and a 12 year. To round out the edges (and because they are allowed to), about 8% bourbon and some sherry is added. Dark Horse is named in honor of a racehorse owned by Frank McMahon, a founder of Alberta Distillers. His dark coated stallion, Majestic Prince, just missed winning the Triple Crown by five lengths back in 1969. In April 2015, this product was released in the US as Alberta Rye Dark Batch Whisky. A name change was necessary in that market.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003eAlberta Distillers has been up-front about what is in here. Most of the bottle (~90%) is a mix of two types of Canadian rye whisky: High ABV rye aged for 12 years in used barrels, and low ABV pot still rye aged for 6 years in new barrels. Rounding out all that rye whisky is ~8% of US-made bourbon (believed to be Old Grand-Dad – we’ll get back to this in a moment). But the really distinctive element is ~0.5-1% sherry added directly to the mix. The final whisky is then aged in heavily-charred American oak barrels, bottled at 45% ABV, and sold at a very competitive price.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003eTasting Notes\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003e\"There is a pleasant savoriness coupled with sweetness that is quite enjoyable, like beef jerky dusted with brown sugar. Leather, vanilla, banana, and a bit of bitter dark chocolate are notes on the palate after the initial touch of sugar on the tongue. The rye is present on the mid-palate and comes back around on the finish. \"\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNose : Red cola and maraschino cherries, then cupcakes with strawberry and cinnamon icing. Water opens up herbal notes of coriander and mint. A clean, wet slate and strawberry soda.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePalate : White chocolate flavoured with strawberry. Sweet with toffee and fondant. Concentrated apple juice and cherry syrup.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFinish : Sweet, unctuous and coating.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 20px;\"\u003eAbout Alberta Premium \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eAlberta 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 Suntory Global Spirits, a subsidiary of Suntory Holdings of Osaka, Japan.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eAlberta Premium won \"Canadian Whisky of the Year\" in Jim Murray's 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2021 Whisky Bibles.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eIntroduced 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 brands.\u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eAlberta Distillers Limited was started in 1946 by Canadian oilman Frank McMahon and Canadian newspaper publisher Max Bell, 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 \u0026amp; Chemical Corporation purchased Alberta Distillers to expand their own liquor portfolio. Alberta Distillers was sold off after Standard \u0026amp; 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, which itself was renamed as Fortune Brands in 1997 and split apart in 2011 into Fortune Brands Home \u0026amp; Security and Beam Inc. Beam Inc. was then purchased by the Suntory multinational holding company of Japan.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003e45% ABV\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003e75cl\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003e*DUE END JULY 2024*\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Alberta Premium","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52784726212946,"sku":"777680003033","price":89.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1052\/9737\/9666\/files\/4435103832.jpg?v=1771930291","url":"https:\/\/whiskysituation.co.uk\/products\/alberta-premium-dark-horse-canadian-whisky-2014-75cl","provider":"Whisky Situation","version":"1.0","type":"link"}