Whisky Guide > Distillery Profiles > Imperial Distillery

Changing Hands

1898 ownership transferred to Dailuaine-Talisker Distilleries

1899 Imperial closed

1919 the distillery re-opened until 1925 when it also passed to new owners – DCL

1955 Under new management SMD, production recommenced after complete rebuild of equipment, at the same time the gilt imperial crown was taken down from the malting kiln due to rust

During the 1980s it was silent yet again

1989 Allied Distillers became the new operators who, after some work, reopened the distillery in 1991

Ronnie MacDonald is, today, the Distillery Manager at Imperial. He also manages Scapa, 118 miles away, and is involved in Tormore and Glentauchers distilleries as well. Ronnie has a long history with the distillery, as his father was also distillery manager at Imperial during the 1950s and 60s.

As young as six, Ronnie became involved in the distillery. At the official reopening ceremony in 1955, Ronnie presented Mr S Grant from Carron House with a bouquet for reopening the distillery.

Ronnie has been the distillery manager for over four years and has been in the industry since 1969. With advancements in the operating technology it now only requires nine distillery workers to operate a five-day production schedule - all nine men work close together with skills and expertise being shared and passed on.