Imperial 30 Years Old 1990 (SMWS 65.7)

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 1990 and bottled by Scotch Malt Whisky Society at 30 years old, for its Timeless and Magnificent range. Single cask number 65.7 yielded 188 bottles, released for Germany.

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 52.9%, 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 a dry, sandy note. The long maturation draws tannins from the oak, drying the finish into clean wood.