Imperial 37 Years Old 1977 (Single Cask)

Founded at Carron in 1897 and demolished in 2013, Imperial produced its last spirit in 1998, leaving a finite and shrinking stock of single malt. Cadenhead's drew this 37 years old release from 1977 spirit for its Single Cask range. The outturn was 204 bottles, released for Germany.

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 37 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 53.5%, 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 dried fruit. The long maturation draws tannins from the oak, drying the finish into clean wood.