Where can I find Alberta Springs 10 Yr Old Canadian Rye Whisky in the U.S.?

January 2, 2007 4:17 PM

Where, or how, can I get Alberta Springs 10 Year Old Canadian Rye Whisky in the U.S.?

I have had the good fortune to receive this fantastic Rye as a gift. The trouble is I need another fix. I need it bad. I am at half rations! How, where, when can I find this best whisky ever? I have googled the crap out of it and to no avail. Their website is a dead end, too. I am not necessarily interested in substitutes, because this stuff is the second best thing I have ever put in my mouth.

posted by SMELLSLIKEFUN to Food & Drink (12 answers total)

Go to a local high quality liquor retailer (not 'Stop'N'Grab Gas & Liquor), find the manager and politely ask them to order it for you.

It is bound to be in one of their catalogs and then they have the pull/distributors to actually handle all the legal border issues.
posted by jkaczor at 4:27 PM on January 2, 2007

If it's of any help, Alberta Springs is readily available in just about any LCBO, which are the liquor stores in Ontario and is produced by Carrington Distillers out of Calgary.

You also might be curious to learn that Alberta Premium, whilst only aged for 5 years, is the only 100% rye whisky made in Canada.

Good luck with your hunt.
posted by furtive at 5:10 PM on January 2, 2007

There are all sorts of strange regulations about what alcoholic beverages can be distributed where. For example it may be that in North Carolina a liquor store can only buy stock from a registered distributor within North Carolina, not direct from the distillery.

Why don't you contact the folks at Beam Global Spirits & Wine (who owns the brand) and ask them how and where to get it in your area.

(Beam is in turn owned by Fortune Brands.)
posted by MonkeySaltedNuts at 5:11 PM on January 2, 2007

Oddly, I was looking for American Rye this weekend in a Toronto Liquor store. No luck. The manager insisted that "Bourbon is American rye." Um, no.
posted by dobbs at 5:16 PM on January 2, 2007

I am going to second Alberta Premium, it is a fantastic rye for a very cheap price. $20 here in Manitoba.
posted by utsutsu at 5:31 PM on January 2, 2007

I don't think Beam owns Alberta Premium.
posted by furtive at 5:32 PM on January 2, 2007

err... Alberta Springs is what I meant.
posted by furtive at 5:33 PM on January 2, 2007

#furtive: is produced by Carrington Distillers out of Calgary

Google says it is made by Alberta Distillers not Carrington Distillers, but maybe Fortune bought both to be part of their Beam group.

I don't think Beam owns Alberta Premium.

Did you look at the links I provided? The Fortune page says:

Blended Whisky/Whiskey
Canadian Club, Teacher's, Whisky DYC, Windsor, Lord Calvert, Tangle Ridge, Alberta Springs, Kessler, Calvert Extra, Jim Beam Rye, Furst Bismarck

posted by MonkeySaltedNuts at 5:40 PM on January 2, 2007

D'oh!
posted by furtive at 5:53 PM on January 2, 2007

Best answer: A friend tells me that the manufacturer does not have an export license. The way she gets it is to have a visiting Canadian friend bring a bottle.

An alternative is to ask a Canadian resident to send a bottle as a gift. This is legal in Canada, though not everywhere in the U.S. But as the likely penalty is confiscation of the bottle, it seems a small enough risk. Just insure the bottle, and have your friend send it again.
posted by ottereroticist at 6:25 PM on January 2, 2007

Response by poster: This begs the question, does there exist a group of International gift exchangers?
posted by SMELLSLIKEFUN at 8:29 PM on January 2, 2007

does there exist a group of International gift exchangers?

Yeah, I need some new "hair tonic," and would be willing to ship locally produced "hair tonic" in return.
posted by ikkyu2 at 9:19 PM on January 2, 2007