Review by: The Muskox

Like the other day’s Rosebank, his is another whisky my group picked for our “ghost distilleries” tasting. For a distillery that closed over 25 years ago, there’s still a fair bit of Imperial floating around (floating because it’s a ghost!) at auctions or even excellent (read: “European”) retailers. I’m still pissed that of all the Speyside distilleries that could have closed pointlessly in the 90s, they picked possibly my very favourite one. Oh well. At least I still get to drink stuff like this.

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Distillery: Imperial.

Bottler: Morrison & Mackay.

Region: Speyside.

ABV: 43.9%. Cask strength.

Age: 27 years. Distilled December 18th 1989. Bottled June 26th 2017.

Cask type: Cask #2892, a bourbon barrel.

Price: N/A, sample.

Color: 0.2, Pale Straw. Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.

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Nose: Soft and fragrant. Piles of floral and grassy flavours – St. Germain, orange blossoms, violets, and earthier flavours of grass, petrichor, and hojicha. Mixed citrus oils, nectarine, slightly-too-green bananas. Croissant smeared with butter and marmalade. Wet river rocks and fried black pepper. Almost an earthy savouriness, soppressata?

Palate: Medium texture. Arrives with tart peach, kettle corn, dried apricots, and crusty sourdough. Tart and dry on the development – strong mineral character, fired clay, soapstone, charred oak, and lemon peels. Very buttery, too. Fresh herbs and cooling menthol.

Finish: Medium-long. Starts very mineral, tart, and a little drying – graphite, shale, and green grapes. Lightens up to fresh linens, spring water, and more apricots and orange blossoms. Just a hint of oak and leather hiding beneath.

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Possible SMWS bottling name: “Life-giving bromeliad nectar”

Conclusion: So, so, so good. This is another one of those “bodywash” whiskies that make me feel clean from the inside out. The low proof lessens the impact of the whisky a little, but, eh, what are you gonna do.

I can imagine it’s a whisky that I’ll probably rate a little higher than others just because of how much I love the flavour profile. That said, it did very well at the tasting.

Final Score: 88.

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Scoring Legend:

• 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
• 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
• 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
• 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
• 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
• 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
• 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
• 50-59: Save it for mixing.
• 0-49: Blech.