Imperial 23 Years Old 1995 Cask #4190 (Morrison and MacKay)

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 Morrison Scotch Whisky Distillers at 23 years old, for its Càrn Mòr Celebration of the Cask range. Single cask number 4190 yielded 230 bottles, released for Italy.

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 23 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 42.1%, 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.