Imperial 'Marriage' 28 yo (40.8%, Elixir Distillers 'The Single Malts Of Scotland', a marriage of five bourbon barrels, 600 bottles)
I'm always a fan of small batch bottlings like this, although low ABVs such as this can sometimes be problematic… Colour: pale gold. Nose: as expected, pure waxes, honeys, pollens, sheep wool and various tinned fruits in syrup. Some graphite and tea tree oil as well. Has this lovely profile that sits between resinous and gloopy in terms of how its fruitiness presents. I also find old shoe leather and mineral oils. A simple but satisfying nose. Mouth: there is some fragility here, which was to be expected, which brings a slightly brittle and drier edge to the palate. A slightly dusty waxiness, some mustard powder, dried out honeycomb and touches of citrus pith and fennel seed. Attractive and charming, but a little tea-ish and soft at the same time. Finish: short, delicately medical with lanolin and then chamomile tea, pollens and a little malt extract. However, it tends to become a little too drying for my taste. Comments: elegant, charming and easy - just a little fragile and drying.
SGP: 451 - 83 points.

Imperial 22 yo 1998/2020 (48.4%, Club Qing 'The Gambler' for Rudder & Club Qing, cask #103929, 182 bottles)
Colour: white wine. Nose: lively and fresh, one of those ones that goes more decisively towards fabrics, sun lotion, snapped twigs, potting sheds and vase water. Also hints of strop leather and tiger balm. Natural but also rather big and well-structured. A wee glimmer of mint tea with honey. Mouth: more classically on waxes, honeys, pollens and olive oil, a nice balance between sweet and dry aspects, then wee impressions of yellow fruits and herbal wines. Lovely and superbly sippable at this ABV. Finish: medium, back on raw ingredients, yeasty bread dough, breakfast cereals drizzled with honey and an impression of crushed oatcakes. Comments: a nicely naked and well-chiselled Imperial. Another one that makes you really think of Clynelish, and just what a lovely and impeccable distillate Imperial was.
SGP: 461 - 88 points.

Imperial 23 yo 1997/2020 (45.4%, Elixir Distillers 'The Single Malts Of Scotland', cask #2798, bourbon barrel, 151 bottles)
Colour: pale gold. Nose: gently honeyed at first with some impressions of hand cream, putty, sandalwood, lemon barley water and mineral oils. A fresh and nicely fatty distillate at a good age. Goes on with a little linseed oil and camphor, also we dollop of lemon marmalade. Mouth: good balance with some sweeter cereal and citrus tones against slightly bitter herbs, peppery warmth and wee medicinal touches such as tiger balm and lanolin. Also a drop of cod liver oil and hessian. Finish: medium, a little minty and herbal with grassy and lemony touches, also still nicely waxy and oily. Comments: easy and delicious, like the majority of these 90s batches of Imperial. Similar story to these parcels of 90s Ben Nevis in my view.
SGP: 552 - 89 points.

Imperial 26 yo 1996/2022 (51.5%, The Whisky Exchange 'The Whisky Show', cask #1053+1189)
Sadly I couldn't make the show this year, turns out having a baby is quite time consuming… Colour: gold. Nose: this one has a slightly sappier and greener profile up front. Crushed flower stems, pollens, vase water and mead, then shoe polish and damp hessian. Narrower, tenser and more powerful, which I rather enjoy. With water: lemon verbena, tea tree oil, hardwood resins and wee touches of orange sherbet and dried mango. Mouth: yes! Big syrupy fruit salad juices with olive oil and a superbly fat waxiness that incorporates mead, camphor and putty. Wonderful notes of lemons and limes in syrupy form, yellow flowers and their nectars, cedar wood and softer medicinal tones. Superb! With water: oranges, limes and lemons with waxes, pollens and some exotic fruit teas. Just great! Finish: good length, a little leaner, more bitterly herbal and on honeycomb and pepper now. A touch of eucalyptus in the aftertaste. Comments: top notch! A wonderful wee small batch composition and showing a great balance of sweetness, spice and nicely fat distillate.
SGP: 662 - 90 points.

Imperial 24 yo 1995/2019 (42%, Valinch & Mallet, cask #20-2402, bourbon barrel, 181 bottles)
Colour: pale straw. Nose: immediately bright, fresh and citric with many fresh cereal and freshly malted barley impressions. Natural sweetness, feelings of summer, bailed hay, barley water, lemon cordial and these gentle but clear background waxy and honey notes. In keeping with the best of these 90s Imperial batches so far. Mouth: gorgeous medley of sweet barley sugars, waxes, pollens, honeycomb and the feeling of sweetened olive oil and breakfast cereals dusted with icing sugars. Natural, well matured malt whisky that is still full of the raw ingredients but manages to balance that with more mature complexities such as waxy and honey flavours. It's just lacking a tiny bit of power at this strength, but otherwise extremely pleasurable. Finish: a little short here, but still very freshly on barley, cereals, caramelised oatmeal, lemon rinds and a little waxiness. Comments: very typical Imperial and a totally scoff-able drop that would probably evaporate unfeasibly fast if you had a bottle in the house. Just lacking a wee bit of power in the finish, otherwise a certain 90 pointer.
SGP: 551 - 89 points.

Imperial 25 yo 1995/2021 (50.1%, The Whisky Exchange, cask #7845, bourbon barrel, 165 bottles)
Colour: pale gold. Nose: this one feels a little shy, on softer earthy and peppery notes, wet leaves, cocoa and a little flower honey. A leaner and slightly more organic profile. Some sandalwood, lemon rind and gorse flower coming through as well. I don't detect the usual waxier notes so far. With water: pressed flowers, hand cream, lanolin and various fabrics like hessian and oily toolbox cloth. Also a touch of soot and green tea. Mouth: those familiar waxes and honeys are more clearly present here but it still feels like a slightly lighter take on this Imperial profile. Sappier, more fir resins, pot pourri, bitter marmalade and touches of clay and ointment. With water: feels drier, a little more brittle and also more peppery and warming now. More teas, dried flowers, linens, ink and some rolling tobacco. Finish: medium, again quite drying and peppery, some gritty waxiness and a few traces of honey. Comments: all very fine, but I think it suffers from comparison with some of its neighbours. The drier side without the balancing honey sweetness that many of the others display.
SGP: 451 - 87 points.

Imperial 25 yo 1995/2021 (53.6%, Elixir Distillers 'The Single Malts Of Scotland', cask #7851, bourbon barrel, 142 bottles)
Colour: gold. Nose: a more weighty and assertive style that's more about concentrated honeys, medicines and waxes. Also dried heather flowers, vase water, ink and putty. A fatty and distinctly full-bodied distillate at a perfect age. There's also sandalwood, coconut and hessian coming through now. A style that makes you think of Clynelish in many ways. With water: a slightly more savoury profile now that incorporates pastries, white bread and lightly hopped IPAs. Waxed canvass and cedar wood. Mouth: excellent arrival, precisely waxy, honeyed, slightly salty, notes of sandalwood, camphor, putty and also dustier notes of pollens, citrus rinds and wormwood. With water: outstanding now, on eucalyptus resins, mentholated tobaccos, salted honey, aged mead and mustard powder. Blind you might have said an old Banff. Finish: long, peppery, mustardy, waxy and with some nicely drying notes of fruit teas, pithy citrus rinds and a few more dried flowers. Comments: above 50% seems to be where these Imperials really shine, this one was outstanding, tastes like it could have been distilled 20-30 years previously.
SGP: 662 - 91 points.

Imperial 24 yo 1995/2020 (53.9%, Elixir Distillers 'The Single Malts Of Scotland' for Kensington Wine Market, cask #7850, bourbon, 148 bottles)
Colour: pale gold. Nose: gorgeous once again, on linseed oils, fruity waxes, pulpy exotic fruits, mineral oils and sandalwood. Also those familiar layers of honey and flower nectars. Perhaps a slightly neater and more compact profile, but still hugely pleasurable and elegant. With water: leaner, drier, sootier and more on minerals, stones, dried out and crystallised honeys and subtle notes of ales and cloves. Mouth: same feeling of precision waxiness with peppery warmth, cedar wood, linseed oils, dried exotic fruits such as papaya and mango, then some desiccated coconut and various teas of the green, herbal and fruit varieties. With water: a lovely, easy fruitiness now that incorporates kiwi, lime and star fruit. Some runny honey and a few drops of yellow Chartreuse. Finish: good length, warming, delicately medicinal, herbal and with mineral oils and camphor. Comments: same terrific quality juice, I just preferred the slightly more abundant and 'energetic' style of cask 7851 by a notch.
SGP: 561 - 90 points.

Imperial 29 yo 1991/2020 (45.7%, Elixir Distillers 'The Single Malts Of Scotland', cask #280, bourbon barrel, 194 bottles)
Colour: pale gold. Nose: softer and behaving almost like some aged dry Riesling of Chenin, with these honey on toast vibes, oils, waxes, dried lemon thyme, mineral oil notes and a feeling of waxed canvass and dried out old ointments. A more subtle and shy take but still with many charms.  Mouth: juicy and on fruit salad flavours, heather honey, a little bubblegum and then impressions of yellow flowers and their nectars, mango lassi and lemon-infused olive oil. Excellent, but perhaps lacks a little of the assertiveness of character that the 95s seem to have, whether that's age or production style I couldn't tell you. Finish: medium, peppery, a little sappy and with dried exotic fruits and herbal teas. Comments: another excellent one, but again just a tad on the soft side to nudge past the 90 mark.
SGP: 551 - 88 points.

Imperial 30 yo (54.8%, Elixir Distillers 'Director's Special', bourbon barrel, 140 bottles)
Colour: gold. Nose: honeys, dried exotic fruits, these lovely soft and malleable waxy impressions and then wee touches of leather, tree bark and cedar wood. Sappy, sharp and even slightly mustardy. Everything precise and in its place with an overarching impression of elegance and poise. With water: cooking oils, salted honey, wood resins, pickled fruits and aniseed. Mouth: big arrival, same honeyed profile as on the nose but it's more medicinal and almost salty here. Lapsang souchong tea, herbal extracts, mineral oil, wee sooty touches and camphor. Big, fatty and swaggering old school malt whisky! Quite a few tertiary wee notes such as hand cream, hibiscus and lemon verbena. With water: excellent concentration and power, citrus liqueurs, crystallised honey, camphor, tea tree oil and beeswax polish. Finish: long, earthy, drying waxiness, warming peppery notes and some ideas of spiced breads and hessian. Comments: I can see why they would isolate this cask for something a bit more 'Special', it certainly stands apart with this more powerful profile that is a tad drier, bigger and more assertive. Although, it does kind of demand you sit up and pay attention.
SGP: 462 - 90 points.