Alberta Distillers is a Calgary distillery that Frank McMahon and Max Bell started in 1946, built to turn local rye into whisky.1,2,3 Most of its whisky leaves in bulk for other firms to bottle, and in 2010 WhistlePig launched using its rye.4,5,6 Suntory has owned it since 2014.2,7
In 1967 National Distillers & Chemical Corporation bought the distillery to secure supply for Windsor Canadian, a whisky made in Alberta and bottled in the United States.2,4,6 By 1975 the plant site had grown to 42 acres.2 In 1987 James B. Beam Distilling Company, owned by American Brands since 1968, bought National Distillers and took over the distillery and its brands.2,6,7 American Brands renamed itself Fortune Brands in 1997, and its drinks business split off as Beam Inc. in 2011.2,7 Suntory bought Beam Inc. in April 2014, and Beam became a subsidiary named Beam Suntory.2,7 In May 2024 Beam Suntory renamed itself Suntory Global Spirits.7
In August 2001 the distillery, which relied entirely on rye, began buying it directly from farmers as Prairie rye acres shrank.5 In 2010 Dave Pickerell launched Vermont's WhistlePig with all-rye whisky bought here, and Masterson's, Lock Stock & Barrel, Jefferson's and Hochstadter's followed.9,10 In 2016 about 80 per cent of its production was shipped out in bulk, to over 80 customers from South Africa to Korea.4,5,6 Head distiller Rick Murphy retired in 2018 after 35 years with the company.11 In 2019 it mashed all the common whisky grains but still focused on rye for its top whiskies, and its house ryes are always 100% rye.9,10
Fermentation lasts 3-4 days, and in 2016 the plant had 18 fermentation vessels.4,12 A beer still turns the fermented mash, called beer, into high wine, a first spirit; three still setups, called trains, then make the new spirit.4,12 Whisky is double distilled, using column stills and what Whisky Magazine called the largest stainless steel pot still in Canada.4,12 Decades ago it began growing its own enzyme to turn starch into sugar without malt; the company says this and unmalted local rye give a spicy and robust spirit.1,9,10 A column still can strip out most of the rye character to make mixing whisky such as Alberta Premium, the house brand, while a pot still keeps more.1,9,10 It ages whisky in 23 pallet and rack warehouses on site, over 3000 feet above sea level, holding up to 500,000 barrels.10,12 It fills new charred white oak, once-used bourbon and re-used barrels, some at 78% ABV, and the strength can rise to 84% as water evaporates.10,12 The company says it uses glacial water from the Rocky Mountains.12,13
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