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Release Notes
Ok, so it turns out we are bringing you a rare closed distillery bottling after all, it's just not from a distillery anyone has ever heard! I'm totally in love with this odd little distillery, which was dismantled and eventually demolished in 2013. Plans to build a news distillery are in the works -what a waste- but nothing will be quite like the fine old gentlemen that was the Imperial distillery. This cask was the best of several excellent ones we found in the warehouse.
K&L
A single barrel cask strength bottling of a Speyside single malt from Hogshead #50148. Distilled on August 21st, 1995. One of only 272 bottles filled on August 1st, 2014.
Yours Truly
3rd Party Tasting Notes
Bone dry, with concentrated nutty flavors, it's fully bodied and lushes to the max. It's not altogether unphenolic, with a slight earthy smoke in the background. Incredibly complex and deep, not the sort of whisky you can evaluate in a mere few moments, so be sure to let this one breath in the glass. Give it time and let it expand before you. Perhaps my favorite bottling in this batch and look at the price.
K&L
The Bottler: Signatory Vintage
| Established: 1988 |
| Silent since: False |
| Address: Edradour Distillery, Pitlochry, Perthshire & Kinross, PH16 5JP, Scotland |
Signatory owns the smallest distillery from Scotland, Edradour since 22 july 2002
In April 1992, as the company began to grow, they moved to much larger premises. Here, they were granted a licence to bottle their own products on site. They set-up a small line bottling system, primarily geared towards the bottling of single casks. Although the actual bottling of whisky is semi-automated, the emphasis is very much a hands-on operation, with hand labeling and packing of products. To add to the exclusivity of their bottlings, they often declare the cask number, date of distillation,and date of bottling on our labels. In addition,each bottle is individually hand numbered.
It is their aim, as an independent bottler to offer a range of whiskies, some of which are not bottled by the proprietor of a particular distillery, and some at different ages/strengths to those offered as distillery bottlings. The majority of their bottlings are the product of single casks, with the malt whisky enthusiast being given the opportunity to sample the subtle differences which occur with each different cask.
The name of Signatory derived from the fact that their initial intention was to find someone famous to sign the labels for bottles produced from one single cask. The first cask we purchased was a cask of 1968 Glenlivet, which was sold long before we could find a famous person.
Until April 1992, when they moved to their current premises in Newhaven (Edinburgh), they operated from a bonded warehouse in Leith. Leith was once a well known port for importing wine from France. As this industry declined, many of the whisky companies began to occupy the old warehouses for cask storage purposes. In recent years, this has also declined, with the larger companies moving to the west of Edinburgh, where transport links are better.
The company was founded in 1988. It is a family owned and managed company, being one of only three true independent bottlers. They always like to draw a distinction between the independent companies who bottle their own products, and the independent companies whose products are bottled under contract. The other fully independent bottlers are: Gordon & MacPhail and Wm. Cadenhead.
from Whisky-Distilleries.info
The Distillery: Imperial
| Established: 1897 |
| Silent since: 1998 |
| Address: Banffshire, AB43 9QP |
The Imperial distillery was constructed in 1897 by Thomas Mackenzie, an entrepreneur who already owned two other malt whisky distilleries; Dailuaine and Talisker. Imperial was transferred just a year later to Dailuaine-Talisker Distilleries Ltd. who - like the name suggests - also administered the other distillery in the Scottish town of Carron: Dailuaine.
Imperial distillery was closed again within a year due to the Pattison whisky crisis and remained closed for almost two decades. In 1916 Imperial was bought by a consortium of DCL (Distillers Company Limited), W.P. Lowrie, Johnnie Walker and Dewar's. Production was resumed in 1919, but in 1925 the distillery was closed yet again. That year DCL also took over Imperial completely. This might not have been DCL's best investment because it wasn't until 1955 before the distillery was reopened again.
Imperial was rebuilt and reopened in 1955, at which point SMD took over administration. Ten years later, in 1965, the number of stills was expanded from two to four and a Saladin box was installed to malt the barley. Just like Glenury Royal, Imperial was closed in 1985 by DCL and sold to United Distillers a year later.
Surprisingly enough, the Imperial distillery was acquired and re-opened by Allied Distillers in 1989, only to be mothballed again in 1998. (Allied later merged into the Allied Domecq conglomerate.)
Most Scotch malt whisky distilleries have names that are inspired by history or geography, but this is not the case with Imperial. As a result, it's one of the few single malt whisky brands that has namesakes in other whisky categories.
There has been at least one Scotch blend with the name and in the USA a bourbon whiskey (!) with the name 'Imperial' is much better known than the single malt whisky. But even in Europe and the UK Imperial was never very well known. The fact that the distillery was closed for more than half of its life contributed to its obscurity, as well as the fact that no official bottling existed.
As far as I know, there has only ever been one official bottling of Imperial; a 15 years old expression from Allied. The independent bottlers Gordon & McPhail offered a few vintages during the 1990's and early noughties, but those 'licensed' bottlings could hardly be considered official bottlings.
Imperial came very close to being demolished; Moray Council had already given permission for demolition of the distillery buildings in 2005, as well as permission to build new housing on the location. Estate Agents Bell Ingram had already received the assignment to sell the premises when the new owners of Imperial (Pernod / Allied) put those plans in the freezer - at least temporarily. However, it's still doubtful Imperial will be revived again with a crisis going on...
In The New Millenium
2005 - Pernod Ricard / Chivas Brothers buy Allied Domecq and become the new owners of the Imperial distillery. They decided not to reopen or refurbish the defunct Imperial distillery.
2013 - The original buildings of the Imperial distillery are demolished, but Chivas Brothers announce plans to build a brand new distillery on the site of the old distillery. Chances are that they will name the new distillery 'Imperial' as well, although the only link between the old and the new distillery seems to be the location.
Imperial distillery was closed again within a year due to the Pattison whisky crisis and remained closed for almost two decades. In 1916 Imperial was bought by a consortium of DCL (Distillers Company Limited), W.P. Lowrie, Johnnie Walker and Dewar's. Production was resumed in 1919, but in 1925 the distillery was closed yet again. That year DCL also took over Imperial completely. This might not have been DCL's best investment because it wasn't until 1955 before the distillery was reopened again.
Imperial was rebuilt and reopened in 1955, at which point SMD took over administration. Ten years later, in 1965, the number of stills was expanded from two to four and a Saladin box was installed to malt the barley. Just like Glenury Royal, Imperial was closed in 1985 by DCL and sold to United Distillers a year later.
Surprisingly enough, the Imperial distillery was acquired and re-opened by Allied Distillers in 1989, only to be mothballed again in 1998. (Allied later merged into the Allied Domecq conglomerate.)
Most Scotch malt whisky distilleries have names that are inspired by history or geography, but this is not the case with Imperial. As a result, it's one of the few single malt whisky brands that has namesakes in other whisky categories.
There has been at least one Scotch blend with the name and in the USA a bourbon whiskey (!) with the name 'Imperial' is much better known than the single malt whisky. But even in Europe and the UK Imperial was never very well known. The fact that the distillery was closed for more than half of its life contributed to its obscurity, as well as the fact that no official bottling existed.
As far as I know, there has only ever been one official bottling of Imperial; a 15 years old expression from Allied. The independent bottlers Gordon & McPhail offered a few vintages during the 1990's and early noughties, but those 'licensed' bottlings could hardly be considered official bottlings.
Imperial came very close to being demolished; Moray Council had already given permission for demolition of the distillery buildings in 2005, as well as permission to build new housing on the location. Estate Agents Bell Ingram had already received the assignment to sell the premises when the new owners of Imperial (Pernod / Allied) put those plans in the freezer - at least temporarily. However, it's still doubtful Imperial will be revived again with a crisis going on...
In The New Millenium
2005 - Pernod Ricard / Chivas Brothers buy Allied Domecq and become the new owners of the Imperial distillery. They decided not to reopen or refurbish the defunct Imperial distillery.
2013 - The original buildings of the Imperial distillery are demolished, but Chivas Brothers announce plans to build a brand new distillery on the site of the old distillery. Chances are that they will name the new distillery 'Imperial' as well, although the only link between the old and the new distillery seems to be the location.
Trivia:
- The name Imperial is different from the 'geographically inspired' names of most other whisky distilleries. Imperial's construction in 1897 coincided with Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee , which was an inspiration when naming the original distillery.
- The original Imperial distillery differed from other Speyside distilleries, as it was built of red Aberdeen brick with an iron beam and pillar framework to make the distillery fire resistant. Pine forests surround the distillery.
- Imperial is located next to the former Carron train station and the railway line (which was closed in the 1960's).
- The distillery is located close to the Spey river, but the water can't be used for the whisky production. The water supply of Imperial originates from the Mannoch hills to form the Ballintom Burn. The cooling water travels for two and a half miles. As it travels by gravity there is no power required to feed the water into the condensers at Imperial. The hot water from the condensers that is reintroduced back into the burn is too hot to meet legal demands. Allied's Chief Engineer Manager Tom Dunn solved this problem by designing a series of walls within the dam that created a long canal by which the hot water has to travel before it reaches the outlet. This sufficiently cools the water before it is reintroduced into the burn.
from Malt Madness
The Owner: Chivas Brothers
| Established: 1801 |
| Silent since: False |
| Address: Strathisla Distillery, Seafield Avenue, Keith, Banffshire, AB55 5BS, United Kingdom |
| → website |
Chivas Regal is a blended Scotch whisky produced by Chivas Brothers, owned by Pernod Ricard. According to the brand packaging, Chivas Brothers was first established in 1801 in Aberdeen, Scotland. The Chivas brand"s home is Strathisla Distillery at Keith, Moray in Speyside, Scotland. It is the market leading Scotch whisky aged 12 years and above in Europe and Asia Pacific. Chivas Regal sales have grown by 61% between 2002 and 2008.
In the early 1900s, Chivas Brothers decided to create their most aged blended Scotch whisky to export to the U.S, where the booming economy after the turn of the century was fueling demand for luxury goods. The whisky was named Chivas Regal.
Chivas Regal 25 Year Old was launched in 1909 as the original luxury Scotch, and became a leading brand in the U.S. Chivas Regal continued its success until prohibition in the 1920s.
In 1843, Chivas Brothers were granted a Royal Warrant to supply goods to Queen Victoria. Chivas Brothers was described in 1890 as "undoubtedly the finest purveying business in the north of Scotland" by "Scotland of Today" magazine.
During the 1850s, James Chivas decided to respond to his affluent customers" demands for a smoother whisky, by beginning to blend whiskies to create a proprietary blend to Chivas Brothers. Their first blended Scotch whisky named "Royal Glen Dee" was launched, followed in the 1860s by their second blended Scotch whisky, "Royal Strathythan".
The House of Schivas, a large mansion, was built at Schivas in Aberdeenshire in 1640. The name is derived from the Gaelic "seamhas", meaning narrow place.
Chivas Brothers traces its roots to the opening of a grocery store at 13 King St, Aberdeen in 1801. The store sold luxury foodstuffs such as coffee, exotic spices, French brandies, and Caribbean rums to a wealthy clientele. In 1842, Chivas Brothers were retained to supply provisions to the royal family at Balmoral Castle upon Queen Victoria"s first visit to Scotland.
Chivas Regal was purchased by Seagrams in 1949, which provided a much wider distribution and marketing system.
Chivas Regal was re-launched as Chivas Regal 12 year old in the US following the disruption of both Prohibition and World War II. Chivas became a fashionable brand of the era, and became associated with Frank Sinatra and the rest of the Rat Pack. Chivas Regal was the Scotch whisky requested by Sinatra, along with other spirits brands backstage at performances, and Chivas sponsored Frank Sinatra"s Diamond Jubilee Tour in 1990.
The Strathisla distillery is owned by Chivas Brothers, and Strathisla Single Malt is one of the malt whiskies used within the Chivas Regal blend.
Strathisla Single Malts have a natural sweetness and help to define the taste of Chivas Regal.
In 1950, the company Chivas Brothers was able to buy the Strathisla Distillery which produces the Strathisla Single Malt, which is used within the Chivas Regal blend.
The Chivas Regal range was expanded with the launch of higher aged whiskies, in 1997 with the launch of Chivas Regal 18 year old, and in 2007 with the launch of Chivas Regal 25.
Chivas Regal was acquired by Pernod Ricard in 2000 upon the break up of Seagrams Group.
The home of Chivas Regal and location of its visitor centre is located at the Strathisla distillery. The distillery was founded in 1786, and is the oldest working distillery in the Highlands of Scotland - Strathisla Distillery, located in Speyside.
from Wikipedia
The Owner: Pernod Ricard
| Established: 1975 |
| Silent since: False |
| Address: 12, place des Etats-Unis, 75783 Paris Cedex-16, France |
| → website |
HELLO WORLD!!! Pernod Ricard owns a wide variety of brands including: Chivas Regal, Glenlivet, Jameson Irish Whiskey, Seagram"s, Pernod absinthe, Absolut, Ricard pastis, Martell cognac, Jaconb"s Creek wine, pernod anise, Havana Club rum, Ballantine"s scotch, Kahlue, Malibu rum, Beefeater gun, Stolichnaya vodka, Mumm champagne and more.
Pernod Ricard came into existence when old rivals Pernod and Ricard merged to form Pernod Ricard S.A.. Ricard was founded 1932 in Marseille by Paul Ricard. Pernod started with Henri-Louis Pernod who opened his first absinthe distillery in Switzerland in 1797, followed by Maison Pernod Fils in Pontarlier. In 1926 these distilleries merged with Distillerie Hernard in Paris to form Les Etablissements Pernod.
After the 1975 merger that formed the current company a series of buy-ins and takeovers began that continues until this day. In 1988 PR acquired Irish Distillers which includes Jameson Irish Whiskeys, in 1989 PR acquired Orlando Wyndham (makers of Jacob"s Creek wine), in 2001 PR purchased 38% of Seagram"s Wines and Spirits, in 2005 PR purchased Allied Domecq and in 2008 PR bought V&S Group which includes the Absolut Vodka brand.
Reborn from the Pernod Fils company as a producer of anise liqueur following the ban on absinthe, it is now a worldwide conglomerate. It owns the alcoholic beverage division of the former Seagram corporation, among many other holdings. In 2005, the company acquired British-based international competitor Allied Domecq plc.
In 2008, Pernod Ricard announced the acquisition of Swedish-based V&S Group including Absolut Vodka.
Pernod Ricard (Euronext: RI) is a French company that produces alcoholic beverages. The company"s most famous products, Pernod Anise and Ricard Pastis, are both anise liqueurs, and often referred to as simply Pernod or Ricard. The company also produces several other types of pastis.
from Wikipedia