The whisky is quite strongly flavoured for a Canadian whisky, and could be considered less approachable (analogously to the Islay malts in the Scotch whisky domain).
There is a distinctively firm, somewhat acid note from the rye grain, which distinguishes Alberta Premium to any taster in a blind lineup of Canadian Whiskies.
Unlike its 10-year-old blended stablemate, Alberta Springs, Alberta Premium is only aged for five years - perhaps accounting for some of the comparative feistiness