Imperial 30 Years Old 1989 Cask #183 (BB&R)

Imperial closed in 1998 after a century of sporadic production and was taken down in 2013 to make way for Dalmunach, so its whisky now comes only from a closed distillery. This single cask was filled in 1989 and bottled by Berry Bros & Rudd at 30 years old. Single cask number 183 yielded 178 bottles, released for Europe.

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 30 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 47.9%, 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 citrus, malt sweetness, honey, an oily texture and vanilla. The long maturation draws tannins from the oak, drying the finish into clean wood.