Imperial 32 Years Old ElD The Single Malts of Scotland Director’s Special (Elixir)

With Imperial demolished in 2013 and silent since 1998, bottlings like this are among the last records of a lost Speyside distillery. Elixir Distillers drew this 32 years old release from Imperial stock for its The Single Malts of Scotland - Director's Special range. The outturn was 125 bottles, released for the Netherlands.

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 32 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 42.7%, 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 sweaty note. The long maturation draws tannins from the oak, drying the finish into clean wood.