Imperial was built by Thomas Mackenzie in 1897, the year of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. The timing was poor and the distillery was mothballed in 1899. Bad timing would plague the distillery throughout its life: it was only open for six years from 1919 to 1925 before it closed again and remained silent for another 30 years. After reopening, expansion, more mothballing, and more reopenings, the distillery closed for the last time in 1998.
A 10 Year Old bottling was released in 2000 by owners Allied Distillers.
Imperial was demolished in 2013 and Dalmunach distillery now stands on the site.