High-Ryes From The North Country

High-rye whisky is enjoying a revival in Canada, led by releases from Lot No. 40, Canadian Club, Crown Royal, and Alberta Distillers Limited, as well as craft distillers. Many of these robust whiskies are now findin shelf space in U.S. retail shops. Of course, some of this good stuff has been crossing the border for years, even if its Canadian provenance isn’t always so evident.

If you’ve enjoyed Masterson’s, Lock Stock & Barrel, or WhistlePig, then you’re likely a fan of Al berta Distillers Limited. That’s because until recently, ADL, as it’s known, has focused most of its business on distilling and ma turing rye for other labels. Lately it has turned to making its own brands, although unbeknownst to many, ADL’s Alberta Premium has long been the world’s best-selling all-rye whisky.

Canadians have always nicknamed their whisky “rye,” regardless of its mashbill, but most Canadian distilleries produce some high or very high-rye whisky. Crown Royal’s foray into high-rye began in 2015 with a single-barrel offering called Hand Selected Barrel. Made with a traditional mashbill of about 65% corn, 32% rye and 3% barley malt, and distilled in a modified Coffey still, each barrel finds its own place on a flavor scale from bourbonesque to hard-core rye. That development was quickly eclipsed by a flurr of attention around its new Northern Harvest rye that same year. But the most exciting Crown Royal to date came just before Christ mas 2022: Crown Royal 29 year old Extra Rare is made from Crown Royal’s signature mash of 95% rye, with just enough barley malt added to convert the rye starches into fermentable sugars.

At the Hiram Walker Distillery in Walk erville, Ontario, Lot No. 40 Dark Oak is the latest and most robust in what has become a series of expressions. Like the core Lot No. 40, Dark Oak is made from 100% rye, pot dis tilled, and aged in new American oak barrels with a No.-2 char level, but Dark Oak also undergoes a finishing period. Master blender Don Livermore decided to give Lot No. 40’s already hearty flavors a second workout in No.-4 char new oak barrels. After the whisky was matured in No.-2 charred oak, which he believes favors sweeter extracts, he trans ferred it to the more heavily charred barrels. The first run of Dark Oak was finished for 11 months. “We’re planning subsequent bottlings which may be even longer,” says Livermore.

“The way we distill Lot No. 40 in a column then a pot still concentrates the spicy rye notes,” Livermore adds. “We also increased the strength to 96 proof for the Dark Oak line. At higher strengths, wood and grain charac teristics dominate.” The result is a massive whisky that balances the spiciness of rye with the sweetness of the No.-2 charred oak.

As for ADL, it was founded by the Reifels, one of Canada’s greatest distilling families and the undisputed leaders of west coast Prohibition bootlegging (see sidebar). Today the distillery is reviving that legacy in its first new rye in decades, Reifel rye, a full-fla vored sipping whisky. Progress was delayed by COVID-19, but it finally rolled out across Canada in 2022. ADL consulted with George C. Reifel, a fourth-generation member of the distillery’s founding family for this release. Timing for a U.S. release is still pending.

There’s plenty more happening in Canadi an rye whisky, but for now the big distillers have the lead. Come back in a few years, when Sons of Vancouver, Stillhead, Odd Society, Last Straw, and a raft of other craft whiskies come of age. For Canadian whisky, many sweet, spicy days lie ahead.

Alberta Distillers and the Reifel Family

The story of Alberta Distillers began in 1888, when German-Alsatian immigrant Heinrich Reifel arrived in British Columbia and began building his now largely forgotten brewing and distilling empire. When support for Prohibition in British Columbia gained steam during World War I, Reifel and two of his sons set off for Japan to help establish the Anglo-Japanese Brewing Company. The fermenting techniques they learned there would later come in very handy in making rye.

Prohibition in British Columbia lasted from 1917 to 1921, so the Reifels headed home to Vancouver and got back to brewing in 1921. Seeing opportunity in spirits because of American Prohibition, the family recommissioned the shut tered British Columbia distillery in Vancouver. For the next decade, they reigned as the prime whisky supplier to America’s western Rum Row—Pacifi ports of delivery from Puget Sound to Baja California. Having made their fortune, they sold their distilling and brewing interests after U.S. Repeal in 1933.

In 1946, an investor group from Alberta approached the Reifel family, requesting help to establish a new distillery. A third-generation family member, George H Reifel, agreed to build and manage the place, which would be called Alberta Distillers Limited. Local farmers grew mostly rye, so ADL opted to specialize in rye whisky.

CANADIAN RYES TO TRY

Alberta Premium, 40%, $27

Created in 1958, this 100% rye whisky is distilled in both continuous and pot stills and matures in a mix of new oak, bourbon, and Canadian whisky barrels. It’s sweet, spicy, and aromatic, with hot peppers, soft floral tones, and woody traces leading to a short crisp finish. Good stuf for Highballs and sessioning.

Alberta Premium Cask Strength, 63.5%, $84

All pot distilled and matured exclusively in new oak. Bottled straight from the barrel at natural cask strength. Sweetness and oak meld with hints of vanilla, pears, rye spices, and hot pepper. Sip and savor its slow fade into dark fruit.

Canadian Club 100% Rye, 40%, $21

This creamy all-rye blend of pot and column distilled whiskies, most matured in new oak, balances spicy rye with toasted grain, gentle oak, hints of cloves, and the brand’s signature dark fruit.

Crown Royal 29 year old Extra Rare, 46%, $400

The first in Crown Royal’s U.S.-exclusive annual Royal Series was distilled in batches using a minimum of 95% rye mashed with barley malt and matured for 29 years or longer before blending. Dark fruit, peaches, and spices reveal tannins without bitterness, then fade to applesauce. (6,000 bottles)

Lot No. 40 Dark Oak, 48%, $63

It’s Lot No. 40’s weightlifting big brother. All pot-distilled rye aged in new No.-2 char oak and finished in new No.-4 char features fragrant vanilla, apple juice, and spiced balsamic marinade on hefty caramels, oak resins, and glowing rye spices. A long fade through peppermint, cloves, and wood char to finish.

Reifel Rye, 42%, $TBA

A high-rye (over 90%) blend to salute Alberta Distillers founder George H. Reifel. Exclusively pot distilled and matured in bourbon barrels and new charred oak. Sweet, floral, and fruity, with creamy butterscotch, herbal tones, and tingling hot spices. Finishes warm with refreshing oak tannins.