Berry Bros. & Rudd (distilled at Imperial) 17 year old 1995

The news that there’s a new distillery being built on the Imperial site is something to be celebrated. One hopes that the new plant makes whisky of the same character as the old, because Imperial is a classic single malt which is about fragrance (here pineapple and toasted marshmallows) and a clinging, seductive, cream soda quality. Whiskies like these are poems, they need you to concentrate. This is a touch rigid, but that’s a minor criticism of a gorgeous dram. £60