Reifel Rye

Reifel Rye 42% alc/vol

Reifel Rye 42% alc/vol

Peppery but not overly so, in the glass its broad swaths of flavour transform into a single complex entity with sweet, creamy, fruity, floral tones and that finishing touch of bitter pith that defines great rye.

The astoundingly rich flavours of Reifel Rye demonstrate why Alberta Distillers is the world’s leading producer of rye grain whisky. Canadian distillers know how difficult rye is to work with, and how much whisky lovers revere the spicy flavours of rye done right. By happy chance, the Reifels, the founding family of Alberta Distillers Limited (ADL), cracked that code 75 years ago. This truly is a rye sensation.

Top-Quality Local Rye

Reifel Rye is made from the same top-quality rye grain that local farmers have been growing for Alberta Distillers since the mid-1940s. Sown in the fall to protect the land from erosion, come next summer it ripens into perfect whisky-making grain. The whiskies that become Reifel Rye mature in new American white oak and ex-Bourbon barrels for a masterful synthesis of assertive rye spices, with underpinnings of the classic crisp ethereal high notes for which Alberta Distillers is renowned.

Soft fruity elements and sweet floral tones, layered onto a butterscotch sweetness complement its creamy mouthfeel until they are punctuated by peppery, almost gingery spice. Think plums, canned pears then exhilarating bursts of spicy heat. Herbal, vaguely earthy undertones surge forward on the finish underscoring the complexities of this most flavourful of rye whiskies.

A Connoisseur’s Favourite

If you are a rye connoisseur, you have likely enjoyed Alberta rye already, though you may not know it. Rye whisky from Calgary’s Alberta Distillers Limited has quietly been filling top-selling US whisky brands for well over a decade. Think Masterson’s, Hochstadter’s, Jefferson’s, Lock Stock & Barrel, and Whistlepig, all connoisseur favourites and all made at Alberta Distillers.

Success both sides of the border for several recent, long-aged and cask-strength versions of their stalwart Alberta Premium have encouraged brand managers to up the ante and give us a robust all-new whisky they call Reifel Rye. Brand managers named the whisky for their founding distiller, George H. Reifel, a third generation distiller in the prominent Reifel family of brewers and distillers.

As the late American distilling legend and Maker’s Mark master distiller Dave Pickerell put it, ADL is not only the world’s leading producer of rye whisky, it’s the best. The rich spicy flavours of Reifel Rye show us why.

Covid supply chain constraints have meant a staged roll-out for Reifle Rye. So, if it’s not in your local liquor store yet, keep looking. This is super good whisky, and well worth the wait.