Imperial 1995 20 Year (The Ultimate)

I dug out this long-neglected sample from @PBMichiganWolverine as I have never had an Imperial before and wanted a level set before trying the distillate in the recent Compass Box Magic Cask blend. It was probably worth the wait as this is a style of whisky I appreciate more than I did a few years ago. There’s a flinty pineapple quality to the nose that I rather like. It’s crisp and minerally in the mouth, with more of the pineapple to texture an otherwise austere profile. The finish is short and dry. It’s a combination of flavors that I find interesting and increasingly to my taste, though this isn’t a particularly outstanding example of them and the finish doesn’t add anything. Still, levels set, let’s see if Compass Box can bring the magic.

The eve before Thanksgiving day. Sitting with the wife watching what is our Thanksgiving Eve tradition of watching “Planes, Trains and Automobiles”, which we have done forever and a half. A sample from @PBMichiganWolverine us the sample du jour. Sitting back and will slowly take this sample in. The color is almost clear; like sunflower oil. Subtle fruity nose of apples and pears. Vanilla, honey and butterscotch provide a gentle sweetness. A nuttiness hides in the background of walnuts and almonds. This one arrives simultaneously sugary sweet and spicy. The body’s medium dense and oily. White sugar syrup doused over a fruity bowl of apples, pears and oranges. Throw in some black pepper and cinnamon for the spicy kick. As it begins to fade, a cereal quality (Raisin Bran) comes forward. The finish is oranges and light brown sugar and vanilla. A cinnamon spice tinge on the tongue dances briefly on the tongue for the last few seconds. Finally, the palate is slightly woody dry. A decent offering that provides a sweeter dram with a dash of spice. It feels slightly young though it’s a relative old man at twenty; almost feels half the age. Middle of the road whisky. Won’t offend, but won’t provide any true memorable quality. [82/100][Tasted: 11/2 1/18]

Hmmm...Apple pie with cinnamon on the nose along with sawdust, and pears. The palate wasn’t as sweet with more of a toffee, butterscotch, white grapes, and mineral water. The mouth coat is medium but a long buttery finish, but the mineral note still lingers and kills it for me. Such a shame. Thanks for the try @PBMichiganWolverine. The theme to this dram should be a simple pop song. Maybe that “I Gotta Feeling” song by the Black Eyed Peas. Blah... lol. 2.5. Can’t believe the age doesn’t show here.

Fitting that, as I sat down with a wee dram of this (thanks to @PBMichiganWolverine) and a book (The Eucharist by the late Alexander Schmemann), I discovered that the section I was about to read revolved around memory and its role in the Orthodox liturgy. After all, this whisky is itself a concrete form of memory, the liquid last will and testament of a distillery closed for twenty years. It’s a pleasant, but simple, affair - plenty of sweet vanilla on both nose and palate, with candied fruits and frosted cereal. It’s a sweet one, to be sure, but the age has worn off the sharp edges and it’s fairly smooth and round with a medium length finish. I can’t say that I’m sad that the Imperial Distillery is no more based off the sample here, but it’s not a bad drop of whisky by any means...though the prices for it others have referenced are definitely NOT reflective of its intrinsic qualities as a whisky!

This is it. The last distillery sample I need to lay claim to every operating distillery in Scotland (that has an official bottle available). Ironically, we included 3 ghosted distilleries because we found reasonably priced or easily accessible bottles to share. That leads me to Imperial. They made their last juice in 1998 and were demolished in 2013. This is a 21 year old pour provided by The Ultimate Whisky Co and comes in at 46% ABV. It’s light gold in the glass and leaves behind tiny drops when you spin it. The nose is a lot like a sweeter, ex-bourbon cask whisky. There’s fresh cut oak and vanilla with some nice, light citrus in the background. The palate is really oily with lots of vanilla and nutty flavors with hints of toffee and raisins mingling in throughout the entire sip. There’s lemon peel and bits of citrus propping up the back end, too. The finish is medium to long, butter smooth with vanilla and banana notes lingering on and on. Overall, it’s a solid whisky. Thanks to my buddy Pranay for opening this rare beast from his collection. Bottles from this distillery are climbing to ridiculous heights and I don’t think this one is worth anywhere close to what he paid ($200). That said, I’m happy our little group accomplished this feat. By my count it’s 105 samples tried, 3 closed distilleries and a handful that don’t offer anything to the North American market. There was lots of time, money and effort put forward by my friends here: @Generously_Paul, @PBMichiganWolverine, @Telex and @Scott_E for helping make this thing happen. Here’s to hoping we can get together down the road and keep newer distilleries checked off, as well. Cheers.

Stop number 103 on the SDT is Imperial. This Speyside distillery went through multiple closures, reopenings and owners. The final nail in the coffin of this distillery came in 2013 when it was demolished to make way for the new Dalmunach distillery which was built in 2015 on the exact same location as Imperial. A bit of shortsightedness saw most of the remaining stocks sold off to be used in blends rather than being sold as single malts to enthusiastic collectors. Thankfully there are independent bottlers out there to make single malt bottlings possible. Enter The Ultimate Whisky Company and this 20 year old bottle of Imperial. Distilled in 1995, bottled at 46% ABV, natural color of a pale gold and non chill filtered. The nose begins with apples, pears and dry grass. It’s not a very intense nose, but it is pleasant. Almonds, walnuts, vanilla and some sweet peaches. Some light raisins, toffee and oak. Green grapes, nice floral notes and honey. Very faint banana, slightly malty with a pinch of brown sugar. The palate is much more intense than the nose would suggest, if not too complex. Peaches, honey, raisins and almonds. Citrus - mostly oranges, but there is a bit of lemon in there as well. Underripe banana and vanilla. A medium to full bodied mouthfeel that is lightly oily, mouth coating and then dry. The finish is medium long with vanilla, citrus, banana and it turns slightly bitter. Not a bad whisky, but certainly far from great, especially when you consider its age and price point. The price, a whopping $200, is surely more of an indication of its rarity as opposed to its quality. It has decent flavors, but nothing to set it apart from any other Speyside. Thanks to @PBMichiganWolverine for the sample. 2.75-3 Cheers

Darwin’s law at full display again...another closed distillery, another “meh, not worth the price” dram. This was one of my offerings for an optional closed distillery as part of our SDT final round. I’m starting to learn that most of these closed distilleries closed during the economic downturn for a reason...they sucked. It’s like being the worst player on the Golden State Warriors. Sure, you’ll get a championship ring too, courtesy of Curry and team. But, if you get transferred to the Knicks...you’re toast. Same goes for these closed distilleries. During boom times (now), even bad distilleries do well. But, during bust, the bad ones are the first to go. A few exceptions can be made of course ( Brora, Karuizawa, Hanyu), but by large most of the closed distilleries closed in the economic downturn because no one would buy their products when a better one was available at the same price. This one here is just ‘meh’. Typical butter biscuits on the nose, with a follow up of shortbread on the palette. Nothing complex or amazing, as you’d sort of expect when forking over Macallan style cash.