Imperial 29 Years Old 1982 Cask #3974 (Signatory)

Imperial was a Speyside distillery at Carron that fell silent for the last time in 1998 and was demolished in 2013, which caps its single malt at whatever was already in cask. This single cask was filled in 1982 and bottled by Signatory Vintage at 29 years old, for its Vintage Collection range. Single cask number 3974 yielded 310 bottles, released for Switzerland.

Imperial worked to a fruity, lightly floral house character, the product of tall stills and a comparatively light spirit cut. This bottling matured in ex-Bourbon American oak. Across 29 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 51.4%, without dilution, the ex-Bourbon wood supplies furfural for toasted almond, eugenol for clove and warm spice, and maltol for a soft toffee sweetness. The long maturation draws tannins from the oak, drying the finish into clean wood.