Imperial 20 Year Old 1995 Cask Strength Collection (51.0%, Signatory, HH #50154, 257 Bottles, 2016)
Whisky Review
- Category: Speyside single malt scotch whisky
- Origin: Imperial Distillery
- Bottling: Signatory, Cask Strength Collection, Cask 50154
- ABV: 51.0%
- Cost: £81.21
- Score: 90/100
What they say:
Distilled on 21/08/1995 at Imperial Distillery and matured for over 20 years in Hogshead 50154 before bottling on 19/01/2016 at cask strength of 51.0% producing 257 bottles at outturn.
Tasting Note by The Chaps at Master of Malt
Nose: Honeyed malt, buttery pastry, sweet spice and a touch of chocolate lime.
Palate: An agreeable toffee’d palate with some orchard fruit and mixed peels in support.
Finish: Oak with a hint of smoke.
What I say:
A sister cask to our last Imperial review Imperial 19 Year Old 1995 (cask 50164) distilled on the same day but matured for a little longer, this has a slightly darker hue and a little more depth.
Colour:
Bright and refractive amber gold (9/20) medium-sized round droplet tears leave medium-fine legs
Nose:
Rich polished and lacquered wood, highland toffee, fudge, pastries and biscuits, sweet malty cereal barley, egg custard, a touch of solvent – marker pen, dusty and floury, sawdust, zesty fresh lemon and lime, apple and perfumed blossom
Taste:
Highland toffee, butterscotch, fudge, crème brulee, crème caramel, oily buttery and thick on the tongue, a zesty citric lemon and lime and touch of white pepper and cinnamon spice develop but wrapped in all-butter croissants, pear tarte tatin and pain au raisin all drizzled/glazed in thick honey.
Finish:
Medium, toffee-rich sweetness, candied peel, sawn oak wood and wisps of wood smoke
Overall:
Another beautiful single cask Imperial from Signatory. This is much more balanced than the last with an equal weighting of spirit and cask influences. Truly luxurious in feel and a good depth of woody sugars mix to evoke some wonderfully complex flavours. Delicious!
The Whiskyphiles 