Imperial 13 Years Old 1997 Finest Speyside Malt (Captain Burn’s)

Imperial closed in 1998 after a century of sporadic production and was taken down in 2013 to make way for Dalmunach, so its whisky now comes only from a closed distillery. Captain Burn's drew this 13 years old release from 1997 spirit for its Finest Speyside Malt range. It was released for France.

Imperial ran four large copper pot stills at Carron and made a fruity Speyside spirit that mostly went into blends such as Teacher's and Ballantine's. This bottling matured in ex-Bourbon American oak. Across 13 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 46%, 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.