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Imperial Distillery | |
General |
Pronunciation | im’perial ![]() |
Translation | |
Region | Highlands / Speyside |
Distiller | Allied Distillers Ltd. |
Owner | Chivas Brothers Ltd. (Pernod Ricard) |
Address | Carron Aberlour Morayshire AB38 7QP Scotland |
Telephone | +44 (0)1340 - 81 02 76 +44 (0)1340 - 81 05 63 (Fax) |
LatLong | 57° 27’ 17.3” N 03° 17’ 59.1” W |
Altitude | 113 m |
Grid Reference | NJ221412 |
Website | |
Open to public | |
Remarks |
History |
1897 |
Distillery was built by Thomas Mackenzie, who already had substantial interests in the Dailuaine and Talisker Distilleries. The buildings were designed by Charles Doig from Elgin and constructed from red Aberdeen bricks within a frame of iron beams. This construction was used to restrict the possibility of damage by fire, a common problem in those days. The progress of the distillery was reported by a local journalist, who noted that the malt kilns were being surmounted with a large imperial coronet that "once gilded, would flash and glitter in the sunlight like the crescent on a Turkish minaret ... among the dark pine woods of Carron and the brown hills which encircle it" |
1898 |
Transferred to Dailuaine-Talisker Distilleries Ltd. |
1899 |
The distillery closed following the crash of Pattison’s, the blender from Leith, in 1898. The demand for whisky decreased heavily |
1919-25 |
Reopened |
1925 |
Dailuaine-Talisker passed to the Distillers Company Ltd. (DCL) on the merge of the ’Big Three’ blenders with the Distillers Company Ltd. (DCL). Production restarted for one season only. Then the distillery got problems with the effluent disposal. During the next thirty years, Imperial operated purely as a maltings. In the 1950s, it transpired that effluents could be recovered by drying, and used as a high-protein animal feed, so the earlier disposal problems were overcome |
1952 |
Distillers Company Ltd. (DCL) started an expriment here and at Aultmore Distillery on making animal feed, named "dark grains", of the protein-rich draff and pot ale. This was very successful and nowadays the animal feed is made by every distillery |
1955 |
Under the management of Scottish Malt Distillers Ltd. (SMD) the distillery was rebuilt and reopened |
1965 |
Enlarged from two to four stills. Saladin maltings |
1969 |
Stills became steamheated |
1982 |
Dailuaine-Talisker Distilleries disbanded and Imperial went over to Scottish Malt Distillers (SMD) |
1985 |
The distillery was closed |
1989 |
Sold to Allied Distillers and reopened |
1998 |
Mothballed |
1999 |
Owned by Allied Distillers Ltd. |
2004 |
Owned by Allied Distillers Ltd. |
Technical Specifications |
General | Water Source | for production and cooling from a spring named Tonory in the Mannoch Hills via Ballintom Burn to distillery |
Annual Output | ||
Finished Spirit (phenols) | ||
Blending Roles | most of production direct to customers who fill casks themselves. almost 100% blend (Teachers, Long John, Ballantine's, Old Smugglers) |
|
Malt | Malt Source | |
Malt Type | ||
Malt Specification (phenols) | ||
Own Malting Floor | ||
Malt Storage | ||
Mill | ||
Grist Storage | ||
Mashing | Mash Tun | |
Mash Size | ||
First Water | ||
Second Water | ||
Third Water | ||
Fourth Water | ||
Fermentation | Washbacks | 6 made of Oregon Pine |
Washback Charge | ||
Yeast | ||
Amount of Yeast | ||
Length of Fermentation | ||
Initial Fermentation Temp. | ||
Strength of Wash | ||
Distillation | Wash Stills | 2 |
Wash Still Built | ||
Wash Still Charge | ||
Heat Source | steamheated | |
Wash Still Height | ||
Lyne Arm | ||
Low Wines Run | ||
Low Wines Collection Range | ||
Spirit Stills | 2 |
|
Spirit Still Built | ||
Spirit Still Charge | ||
Strength of Spirit Still Charge | ||
Heat Source | steamheated | |
Spirit Still Height | ||
Lyne Arm | ||
Coolers | ||
Foreshot Run | ||
Spirit Run | ||
Feints Run | ||
Spirit Cut | ||
Distilling Strength | ||
Storage | Storage Strength | |
Average Spirit Yield | ||
Disposal of Pot Ale/Spent Lees | ||
Type of Casks | bourbon, refill | |
Warehouses | ||
Vatting and Bottling Location |