The Ballintomb Burn rises in the Mannoch Hills before running some two and half miles to the Imperial distillery, not far from the village of Aberlour. The decidedly colonial-sounding Imperial was named for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897; construction having commenced that same year. Thomas Mackenzie founded the Imperial. The distillery was designed by the prolific architect Charles Doig.
The distillery lies in Moray, an eminent whisky region, though aesthetically the whisky distillery bares little semblance to its distilling neighbours; Imperial is made of Aberdeen red brick and utilizes an iron framework to protect the buildings from fire damage. Production was halted for two decades following the Pattison Crisis. Imperial reopened in 1919 following its acquisition by a group headed by Distillers Company Limited three years prior.
Closing once more in 1925, Imperial did not reopen until it was transferred to Scottish Malt Distillers in 1955. The maltings were upgraded a decade later with the addition of a Saladin box. Two further stills were also installed. The distillery had been closed for four years when Allied acquired it in 1989. Allied renovated Imperial and reopened it in 1991. It was mothballed in 1998 and passed on to Chivas Brothers in 2005 following their acquisition of Allied. The distillery remains woefully silent to this day, though there are, however, several independent bottlings and an official expression - a fifteen year-old.
Imperial 19 Year Old 1995 (casks 50181 & 50182) - Un-Chillfiltered Collection (Signatory)
70cl, 46%
A rare bottling from the now-closed Imperial distillery. This single malt was distilled in 1995 and matured for 19 years in hogsheads. It was bottled by Signatory Vintage in 2015 for its… More info
Imperial 32 Year Old Director's Special (The Single Malts of Scotland)
70cl, 42.7%
An exquisite addition to the Director's Special collection from independent bottler The Single Malts of Scotland. Distilled at the lost Imperial distillery, mothballed back in 2008, this single malt… More info
Imperial 25 Year Old 1995 (cask 7861) - The Single Malts of Scotland
From The Single Malts of Scotland independent bottling range comes an exciting example of whisky from a closed distillery – specifically, this one was distilled by Imperial back in 1995, a few years… More info
Imperial 24 Year Old 1995 - Single & Single
A lesser-spotted Imperial single malt! This wonderful Speysider was distilled at Imperial back in 1995, just a few years before the distillery was mothballed in 1998. It was whacked into a single… More info
Imperial 24 Year Old 1996 (cask 3420) - Single Cask Nation
This right here is a 24 year old single malt from the closed Imperial Distillery, which was distilled back in 1996, a few years before it shut its doors for the last time. This whisky was aged in a… More info
Imperial 22 Year Old 1998 (cask 104355) - Monologue (Chapter 7)
A rare chance to taste some Imperial single malt! Though the distillery is closed, indie bottlers like Chapter 7 do sometimes get their hands on some of its remaining stock, and they are exciting… More info
Imperial 30 Year Old 1990 (cask 7531) - Celebration of the Cask (Càrn Mòr)
This Imperial single malt has seen a smashing three decades of ageing! Distilled on 5 September 1990, a single bourbon barrel housed the whisky until it was bottled by Càrn Mòr just two days after… More info
Imperial 30 Year Old 1989 - Old & Rare (Hunter Laing)
An exceptionally well-aged release from the now-closed Imperial Distillery! The distillery was sporadically mothballed throughout its history, and was finally closed in 1998, nine years after this… More info
Imperial 30 Year Old 1989 - North Star Spirits
Lost distillery alert! This indie single malt was distilled at Imperial back in 1989. After three decades of ageing in a bourbon barrel, it was bottled in 2020, just seven years after the distillery… More info
Imperial 28 Year Old - The Single Malts of Scotland
A well-aged single malt from a lost distillery, this whisky was distilled at Imperial before it closed its doors in 1998. It then matured in five bourbon barrels for nearly three decades, and was… More info
Imperial 23 Year Old 1995 (Thompson Bros.)
This single malt was distilled at Speyside's sadly silent Imperial Distillery back in 1995, and spent over two decades in a bourbon barrel. After 23 years, Thompson Bros. independently bottled the… More info
Though the Imperial Distillery no longer stands, its whisky still finds its way to the hands of enthusiasts via indie bottlers! This one is a 23 year old Imperial single malt, distilled in May 1995… More info
Though the Imperial distillery is no longer standing, we can still enjoy its whisky with the help of indie bottlers like Càrn Mòr. This bottling of Imperial Single malt was drawn from a bourbon… More info
An indie Imperial single malt - another exciting release from The Single Malts of Scotland bottling range. This one was distilled in April 1997 and aged in a bourbon barrel for 21 years, before being… More info
Imperial 1997 (bottled 2017) - Gordon & MacPhail
Single malt from the dearly departed (and demolished) Imperial distillery, bottled by Gordon & MacPhail. This particular expression was distilled in 1997 and bottled in 2017 as part of the Distillery… More info
An indie Imperial single malt, drawn from a single bourbon barrel! This 27 year old whisky was distilled back in December 1989 and bottled in July 2017 by Càrn Mòr as part of the Celebration of the… More info
Imperial 1990 (bottled 2001) - Private Collection (Gordon & MacPhail)
This rare bottling comes from Gordon & MacPhail's Private Collection - it's an indie Imperial single malt, distilled in 1990 and bottled in 2001 following a finishing period in Sherry oak. An… More info
Imperial 21 Year Old 1995 (casks 50262 & 50263) - Cask Strength Collection (Signatory)
Whisky from a closed distillery, independently bottled by Signatory! This comes from the Imperial distillery, drawn from a pair of hogshead casks which were laid down in September 1995 and cracked… More info
20 year old single malt from the Imperial distillery, which was laid down in two hogshead casks in September 1995 and drawn from said casks in June 2016. It was bottled by Signatory for their Cask… More info
Imperial 20 Year Old 1995 (casks 50248 & 50249) - Un-Chillfiltered (Signatory)
Independent bottled single malt from the closed Imperial distillery, bottled by Signatory. This was distilled in September 1995 (a few years before Imperial closed its door for the last time) and… More info
An independent Imperial here, bottled by Signatory for the Un-Chillfiltered Collection. It was distilled in September 1995 and aged for 20 years until February 2016, when it was bottled at 46% ABV… More info
Imperial 23 Year Old 1990 - Old & Rare Platinum (Hunter Laing)
A 23 year old single malt from the dearly departed distillery, Imperial. Distilled in October 1990, the whisky matured in a single sherry butt for 23 years before Hunter Laing came along and bottled… More info
Imperial 16 Year Old 1995 - The Octave (Duncan Taylor)
Distilled at Imperial in 1995, this was aged for 16 years before bottling by Duncan Taylor for their fabulous Octave range of whiskies finished in smaller "octave" casks for added pep and zing (also… More info
Imperial 16 Year Old 1995 - Cask Strength Collection (Signatory)
A beautiful cask-strength malt from the classic Speyside distillery Imperial. More info
Imperial 16yo 1995 - Dimensions (Duncan Taylor)
The Imperial distillery has had a turbulent path over the past few decades. In 1989 the distillery was closed to be reopened two years later, then in 1998 it was mothballed again. Fortunately… More info
1,600,000 litres
Mothballed
Carron, Moray
Chivas Brothers
Historical Facts
Thomas Mackenzie, who already owns Dailuaine and Talisker, founds the distillery helped by architect Charles Doig. The distillery's name hints at Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee this year.
The distillery is inaugurated in the summer and is administered by Thomas Mackenzie's company Dailuaine-Talisker Distilleries Limited.
The Pattison whisky crash forces the distillery to close.
Imperial is bought by Distillers Company Limited (DCL), Dewar's, Johnnie Walker and W. P. Lowrie.
Production restarts.
The distillery becomes fully owned by DCL and closes again although the maltings remains active.
Imperial, now administered by Scottish Malt Distillers (SMD), reopens.
The number of stills is doubled from two to four and a Saladin box is installed for malting.
The distillery closes.
Allied Distillers buys Imperial from United Distillers and starts refurbishing.
Once again in operation.
Imperial is mothballed.
Chivas Brothers (Pernod Ricard) become new owners through the acquisition of Allied Domecq.
Reproduced from the Malt Whisky Yearbook 2009 with the kind permission of Mr Ingvar Ronde.