Imperial 17 Years Old 1998 Cask #1230 (G&M)

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 1998 and bottled by Gordon & MacPhail at 17 years old, for its Exclusive range. Single cask number 1230 yielded 287 bottles, released for Belgium.

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 an ex-Oloroso sherry butt. Across 17 years, Oloroso is a fully oxidised sherry, so the wood entered the cask loaded with polyphenols and melanoidins, the latter reading as fig and raisin.

Bottled at its natural cask strength of 50%, without dilution, the ex-Oloroso wood gives dried fruit and a walnut dryness drawn from its tannins, with a leather and cocoa edge from slow oxidation. Recorded bottle notes run to citrus, fresh orchard fruit, honey, malt sweetness and vanilla. Imperial's esters persist underneath as stewed orchard fruit, into a dry, nutty finish.