Imperial 30 Years Old 1989 Cask Series 010 (North Star)

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. North Star Spirits drew this 30 years old release from 1989 spirit for its Cask Series 010 range. The outturn was 54 bottles, released for France.

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 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 52.8%, 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.