Spirits · Calgary, Alberta
Alberta Distillers Limited
Calgary's rye specialist, distilling with prairie grain since 1946.
- Founded
- 1946
- Founded by
- Frank McMahon, Max Bell
- Based in
- Calgary, Alberta
Making it since
1946
Their story
Alberta Distillers opened in Calgary in 1946, founded by Frank McMahon and Max Bell. It sits on a large campus beside the railway in the city's industrial southeast and is one of the oldest distilleries in Canada.
The distillery built its name on rye. Its everyday Alberta Premium is a Canadian staple, and its cask strength rye was named Best Canadian Whisky at the International Whisky Competition in 2020, the same year the Canadian Whisky Awards called it Distillery of the Decade.
How it's made
Locally grown grain arrives by rail and is mixed with glacial water from the Rocky Mountains. An in-house microbiologist develops the enzymes that convert rye starch to sugar, which lets the distillery make whisky from 100 percent rye, something few distilleries manage.
Our featured pick
Alberta Premium Cask Strength Canadian Rye (750ML)
$120.00
“World Whisky of the Year†by Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible 2021Alberta Premium Cask Strength was named “World Whisky of the Year†by Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible 2021.
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1 in stock
Why we carry them
For anyone who thinks Canadian whisky is all light blends, we point them here. This is serious, spicy rye at a fair price.
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