Canadian Whisky

Alberta Rye Whisky Dark Batch Review

Alberta Rye Dark Batch

Let’s say this right off the bat – this is no ordinary Canadian whisky.  Alberta Rye Whisky Dark Batch is a blended whisky comprised of 91% rye whisky,  8% Old Grand Dad bourbon and 1% sherry.  Sounds interesting, right?  How much influence, other than a dark red color, can such a small addition of sherry assert in this whisky?  Alberta Distillers create Alberta Premium Canadian Blended Whisky.  According to Chuck Cowdery, Alberta Distiller’s rye whisky is the source of WhistlePig Rye Whisky.  He’s got a great write-up on this Dark Batch release here.

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Crown Royal Hand Selected Barrel Review
Hand Selected Barrel_1

Photo courtesy of Diageo.

Crown Royal has gone into the single barrel business.  Initially introduced in Texas, Crown Royal Hand Selected Barrel is now widely available, so long as a store near you buys a barrel.  Obviously being a single barrel, this is not a blend.  This is Coffey Rye whisky, one of the principal components of Crown Royal.  It’s rye whisky distilled in a coffey still (a type of column still) at Diageo’s Gimli distillery.  Crown Royal Hand Selected Barrel is bottled at a healthy 51.5%abv, or 103 proof.

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Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye Review

Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye

Crown Royal’s newest expression is all about rye.  Comprised of 90% rye whisky, Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye is the company’s first ever blended rye whisky.  Normal Canadian whiskies may contain a little rye whisky blended with other grain whiskies and neutral grain spirits.   The rye grain used was grown and harvested in Canada, and the whisky was produced at the brand’s distillery at Gimli, Manitoba.

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