Scotland, Speyside. Distillery closed. Owner: Pernod Ricard.

Founded in 1897 by Thomas Mackenzie (owner of Dailuaine-Talisker Distilleries Ltd) to provide relief to its close neighbour Dailuaine, Imperial was in production for only a few months from the summer of 1898, before closing in 1899. In the space of just one century, the distillery was closed more often than it was in production. Its malt would be used in leading blends such as Teachers, Long John, Old Smuggler and Ballantine's, leaving little room to develop a range of single malts. Only Allied Distillers, which became the owner in 1989, would offer a 15 year old version in its Special Distillery Bottling range. For the rest, one would need to dig through the stocks of independent bottlers, and yet here also they are generally rare. Imperial is definitively an endangered malt.

Distilled at Imperial in 1990, this single malt spent 19 years in a hogshead bourbon cask (American oak) and was bottled by The Stillman in 2010.
Equipped with a beautiful golden colour, its nose reflects the influence of the oak cask, expressing notes of toast and vanilla. In parallel, nutmeg aromas combine with a hint of marshmallow. The palate is an explosion of fruit, combining hints of apple, pear and melon highlighted by a more spicy nuance of pepper and ginger. The finish lingers on roasted apple.
This is a pleasant and charming whisky, of which only 186 bottles were produced. Enthusiasts looking for this little rare gem will enjoy it on its own, as a dram for contemplation, or may dare to pair it with bold dishes.