Imperial 27 Years Old

Imperial was a Speyside distillery at Carron that fell silent for the last time in 1998 and was demolished in 2013, which caps its single malt at whatever was already in cask. This is an official distillery bottling, released at 27 years old. It was released for Europe. It carries the Secret Speyside Collection name, the Chivas Brothers range launched in 2019 to showcase lesser known Speyside distilleries.

Imperial's spirit was light and fruity, the Speyside character built for blending, which is part of why single malt releases stayed uncommon. This bottling matured in ex-Bourbon American oak. Across 27 years, the toasted staves released vanillin, which reads as vanilla, and oak lactones, which carry coconut, while the cask char filtered heavier sulphur notes from the spirit.

Bottled at its natural cask strength of 49.8%, without dilution, the ex-Bourbon wood supplies furfural for toasted almond, eugenol for clove and warm spice, and maltol for a soft toffee sweetness. The long maturation draws tannins from the oak, drying the finish into clean wood.