Bimber is a fairly new distillery in London, which recently released its first two single malts. The first release, matured in PX sherry casks, was sold out immediately. The second, matured in re-charred oak casks, has just been released and is still available in a number of places. Before I start reviewing their single malt, I decided to first taste these samples that I should have reviewed much earlier… But first, let’s talk briefly about the distillery itself.
Bimber was founded by Darius and Ewelina Plazewski. Both are originally from Poland, where Darius was already involved in distillation since his family had been making moonshine for a few generations. This also explains the name Bimber, which means moonshine in Polish. The first casks were filled in May 2016 and a little more than 3 years later (last September) their inaugural single malt was released.
I chose not to review the new make because I never actually do that. But I can tell you that both (one peated and the other non-peated) are very nice and of good quality. This leaves 4 samples, all of which have reached the age of whisky and which have all matured in different casks. Not bad right? π
Bimber 3yo virgin oak, 53.1%
Nose: Vanilla and quite spicy, nutmeg, cinnamon. Blueberries strangely enough. Pencil shavings and a hint of coconut. Followed by oranges which getting stronger over time. Also milk chocolate. Cereals too, it’s quite malty but what do you expect at this age.
Taste: Very flavourful. And quite thick for a 3-year-old. Somewhat of the spices here again. But also a hint of ginger. Coconut in the background. Some honey. And the oranges are here as well.
Finish: Short, it disappears rather quickly. Spices here as well.
Ok, this is a nice start. Didn’t expect it to be so flavourful already. And although I’m not a huge fan of virgin oak, this is quite tasteful. I love how thick it feels already.
Bimber re-charred, 3-year-old, 51.9%
Nose: Much fruitier than the virgin oak, fresher too. Sweet cherries and fresh strawberries. Oranges. And a hint of lemons.
Taste: Oh this is nice. A bit malty, cereals. A hint of lime. Honey sweetness. Kiwi. Icing sugar. And then blueberries.
Finish: Quite long. Powdering sugar. And honey.
I quite like this one. This is more to my liking than the virgin oak. I don’t pick up too many flavours, but it’s very balanced and tasteful. Very well integrated already. So far this is my favourite.
Bimber, ex-bourbon, 3 years old 51.2%.
Nose: Oh this is lovely, it’s quite fresh. Some lovely fruits here to start with, a hint of apricots, peaches and oranges in the background. A floral note. Then vanilla appears. And coconut too.
Taste: Honey, maple syrup. It’s quite oily, very nice. The oranges are here. A bit of caramel. Vanilla in the background. Somewhat peppery towards the end.
Finish: Mid-long, with apricots.
Another lovely example of just a 3-year-old. Although I think the nose has a bit more to offer than the taste. But nevertheless good.
ex-sherry, 3-year-old, batch 001, 51.9%.
Nose: Fresher than I would have expected. Cherries, raisins. And apple syrup (the thick Dutch one!) It’s a little bit meaty even.
Taste: Woahh. Yeah, this just turned into a sherry bomb. I would not say it is only 3 years old. Cherries again, raisins. Blueberry jam. Dark chocolate. And quite syrupy again. Thick honey. Balsamico. Somewhat smoky it seems. Rose tea. A floral note.
Finish: mid-long. Balsamico.
Nice. But maybe a bit too sherried for me, but definitely not bad either.
All in all, I’m very impressed by this London distillery. And although the one was of course more to my taste than the other, which of course makes sense with 4 different barrels, I could taste the quality of these samples. Definitely a distillery to keep an eye on and more about Bimber soon!
