IMPERIAL - SINGLE MALT - IB - GORDON & MACPHAIL (G&M) "CONNOISSEURS CHOICE"

IMPERIAL - SINGLE MALT - IB - GORDON & MACPHAIL (G&M) "CONNOISSEURS CHOICE"

Imperial was originally founded in 1897 by Thomas Mackenzie to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. Despite its grand name and beautiful red-brick architecture, it suffered one of the most erratic, "stop-and-start" histories in all of Scotland, closing down just a year after opening and spending more of its life silent than active.

It opens with classic markers of old Speyside—beeswax, vanilla pods, and fresh library dust. It quickly opens up into an orchard and citrus fruit bouquet: bright orange peel, crisp lemon curd, banana skins, and a nostalgic hint of powdery bubblegum.