Imperial 17 Years Old 1990 Cask #353 (Duncan Taylor)

Imperial spent most of its life supplying blends and rarely appeared as a single malt; since its 1998 closure and 2013 demolition, what survives is almost entirely independent bottlings. This single cask was filled in 1990 and bottled by Duncan Taylor at 17 years old, for its Rare Auld range. Single cask number 353 yielded 179 bottles, released for Poland.

The distillery's large stills gave a clean spirit rich in esters, floral and faintly waxy, typical of Speyside before its closure. 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 its natural cask strength of 53.9%, 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.