Imperial 20 Year Old 1995 Signatory Vintage

I was somewhat surprised when I found in my archives that so far I have only tried six Imperial. There are plenty of bottlings on the market, despite the fact that the distillery was closed in 1998 (since October 2014, the brand new Dalmunach is operational on the site). This one came from the stables of Signatory and is bottled at cask strength in their beautiful decanters (beauty is in the eye of the beholder!).

The nose is creamy – even waxy – and fruity. Canned pineapple, mango and pear. Buttercups and a leaf of mint. Nice combo. Not complex, but very good.

The arrival is fine. Good strength, creamy body. Prickles a little on the tongue from a soft spiciness (think pepper and nutmeg) and even shows some lemon zestiness. The fruit shine through nicely, keeping it sweet. Something that reminds me of quinine. I have that often with Imperial.

The finish is medium long and remains spicy. And sweet. Sweeted than anticipated.

Very clean and beautiful Imperial at perfect strength to my taste. One of my favorite Imperial so far (okay, okay, it’s only my seventh…).

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