Imperial 27 Years Old 1996 Cask #3411 (Adelphi)

Founded at Carron in 1897 and demolished in 2013, Imperial produced its last spirit in 1998, leaving a finite and shrinking stock of single malt. This single cask was filled in 1996 and bottled by Adelphi at 27 years old, for its Limited Edition range. Single cask number 3411 yielded 187 bottles.

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 27 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 52.4%, 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 leafy notes. The long maturation draws tannins from the oak, drying the finish into clean wood.