Imperial 33 Years Old 1990 Cask #9825 (G&M)

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. This single cask was filled in 1990 and bottled by Gordon & MacPhail at 33 years old, for its The Recollection Series #3 range. Single cask number 9825 yielded 63 bottles, released for Europe.

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 33 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 52.7%, 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.