LeeEvolved
Imperial 1995 20 Year (The Ultimate)
Single Malt — Speyside, Scotland
Reviewed
August 26, 2018 (edited September 7, 2018)
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.
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@LeeEvolved Many thanks - great lists
@Slainte-Mhath, @1901 - thanks for the kind words. Thankfully, there were only 4-5 samples that were borderline undrinkable. I like the fact that I have sort of a list I can look back on to help my decisions for future purchases with the smaller distilleries. That info is almost priceless IMO.
Well done, sir @LeeEvolved. You and your friends are Distiller's very own Lewis and Clarks
@LeeEvolved Congrats on finishing the tour, and thanks to the whole team for sharing their experiences!
@SolanaRoots - well, to be more fair I think I’d have to do a top 5 overall and a top 5 obscure list. I’ve had tons of stuff from my overall top 5, but the smaller, more obscure distilleries I’ve only had the 1-2 samples from. The “Obscure” Top 5: ————————————— 1. Auchroisk (sampled an 11yo independent bottle and scored it 4.5 stars) 2. Glenlossie (independent 19yo scored a 4.25) 3. Bladnoch (independent 26yo scored a 4.25) 4. Braeval (22yo IB scored 4.25) 5. Allt-a-Bhainne (22yo IB scored a 4) My overall Top 5 is peat-heavy: Laphroaig, Macallan, GlenDronach, Ardbeg, Highland Park with honorable mentions to Tomatin and Lagavulin.
Wow, every distillery in Scotland, well done @LeeEvolved - now a tough request. Let’s have your top 10 distilleries (or top 5 to make it harder)
@LeeEvolved yeah—I agree. Really enjoyed the journey and goal. I loved the bonus samples more, but that’s because those were unique
@cascode - actually, I enjoyed the goal quite a bit- other than the half dozen or so samples that were literally “hard to swallow”. I think some of the guys were more impressed by the extras we all sent, but I’m quite proud to say I’ve tried all the distilleries, too. Now, I’m also ready for a deserved break and ready to refocus myself on drinking quality over quantity again. Cheers to that.
Congrats, team! So, was the journey itself better than reaching the goal?
Well done! I know how you felt after finishing the last one...:-)
@LeeEvolved I will be tasting all through this year. Still have a ways to go. This tour has been great and I am glad I have been a part of it.
Thanks guys as well. I need a lot of catch up time - so far behind. Still lots too learn too. I definitely know a bunch of distilleries that I want another offering from too.
@LeeEvolved. Nice...first to the finish line. I still have a lot to go through.
@Generously_Paul - I’ve still got 7-8 of the bonus samples to finish up but there’s a few of those I want to hold onto for particular tastings or themed flights, but yeah I’m glad to bring this thing to a close.
Congrats on being the first one to the official finish line. 1 more to go for me