Imperial 20 Years Old 1995 Cask #50238 (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 20 years old, for its Cask Strength Collection range. Single cask number 50238 yielded 260 bottles, released for Germany.

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 ex-Bourbon American oak. Across 20 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 56.3%, without dilution, the ex-Bourbon wood supplies furfural for toasted almond, eugenol for clove and warm spice, and maltol for a soft toffee sweetness. Recorded bottle notes run to cocoa, citrus, stewed fruit, honey, a faint medicinal note and seasoned oak. The long maturation draws tannins from the oak, drying the finish into clean wood.