Imperial 17 Years Old 1995 Cask #50327 + 28 (Signatory)

Imperial ceased distilling in 1998 and the buildings at Carron were demolished in 2013, so every remaining bottle draws on spirit laid down before that final silence. This single cask was filled in 1995 and bottled by Signatory Vintage at 17 years old, for its The Un-Chillfiltered Collection range. Single cask number 50327 + 28 yielded 708 bottles, released for Germany.

Fed by Saladin box maltings and distilled on four stills, Imperial produced a gentle, floral malt valued more as blend filling than as a single malt in its own right. 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.