Imperial 17 Years Old (Premier Barrel)

Founded at Carron in 1897 and demolished in 2013, Imperial produced its last spirit in 1998, leaving a finite and shrinking stock of single malt. Douglas Laing drew this 17 years old release from Imperial stock for its Premier Barrel Selection range. The outturn was 144 bottles, released for the Netherlands.

Imperial worked to a fruity, lightly floral house character, the product of tall stills and a comparatively light spirit cut. This bottling matured in ex-Bourbon American oak. Across 17 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.