Alberta Springs 10 Year

COLOUR: Dark gold. LEGS: Move relatively fast and are of medium thickness; appear somewhat oily. NOSE: Moderate (3/5); moderately sweet; rye spice; vanilla, toffee & honey; tart green apples; citrus; black pepper; licorice; herbal & oaky. Quite nice and pleasant; with occasional waves of deliciousness. WITH WATER (3 drops into 10mL): an increase in well-balanced deliciousness. Score 7/10 TASTE: Fairly simple and direct; light (2/5) & thin; heavy rye followed by some corn sweetness; vanilla, butterscotch, honey & maple syrup; tropical fruits; black pepper; licorice & slight saltiness. Quite nice; mostly sweet with a rye bite, and some interesting flavors appearing with patience. WITH WATER: diluted, and perhaps a bit sweeter. Score 7/10 FINISH: Very brief; sweet and spicy. WITH WATER: sweeter and slightly longer. Score 4/10 OVERALL: A pleasant and well-balanced blended Canadian; not too overpowering on the rye, which is sweetened and smoothed by the corn; a good addition to your shelf for casual sipping, especially at the very low price. Initial Impression (2022-04-03): nose is rather pleasant and sweet, similar to the corn sweetness of Potter's and Signal Hill; taste is similarly sweet, with a spicy rye kick, and a bit of bitter oak on the sides of the tongue; finish is short and sweet and spicy. Weighted Score 6.7/10 *NOTE: came in a huge 1.75L bottle.

For the occasional sale price of $18 or $19 CAD in Alberta, Canada, it's a bargain. However, I wouldn't call it a *great* whisky by any means. It originates from Alberta Distillers, linking it to brands like Whistlepig, Jefferson's Rye, or Lock, Stock, and Barrel. It's important to note that those brands acquire premium barrels of flavoring whisky from Alberta Distillers (partially explaining their cost), while Alberta Springs, like most Canadian whiskies, combines flavoring whisky with "base" whisky (distilled to a higher proof to remove grain flavor, allowing barrel notes to dominate). Nevertheless, for what it is, it's difficult to find fault. Flavors include dusty rye, rye bread, menthol, caramel, vanilla, butterscotch, herbal notes, cinnamon, black licorice, green apple, pickle brine, sweetness, Terry's Chocolate Orange, wood sap, and baking spices.

For a budget Canadian blend, I was genuinely pleased. It's light and approachable with caramel sweetness at the start, and a subtle black pepper following. Nothing to dislike there, particularly for the cost.

Sweet aroma and taste, with well-balanced spicy notes. Flavors of banana, lemon, and tropical fruit, along with rye spice. The short finish is its biggest weakness.

Light, sweet, and fruity, with rye spices appearing later. The flavors are nice; I would appreciate it more if it had a bit more strength.

It's so smooth and mild in taste that there's very little flavor. I won't buy or drink it again.