Big Bimber Whisky Review Round-Up

By Paer Johansson

The foundation of new whisky distilleries is always exciting. When a new distillery in London with the unique name of “Bimber” releases their first Single Malt, the excitement is even larger.

The history behind Bimber goes back three generations to Poland where the founder’s grandfather distilled his own moonshine. In 2003, the founders of Bimber, Darius and Ewelina, emigrated from Poland to London and subsequently established the distillery in Park Royal in London 2015.
They named the distillery “Bimber” which means “Moonshine” in Polish.

Since the start of the distillery, the team has been very busy producing an impressive range of products from sugar-less, flavored vodkas to oak-aged vodkas and gins.

Whisky is however the passion and dream of the new distillery and they have positioned themselves well by constructing their own on-site cooperage (mainly using new American oak), their own bottling facilities, and they use their own formula of yeast. Another unique characteristic of the Bimber whisky is the long, 7 day fermentation period, where most distilleries use around 2 days. This is designed to produce a fruitier, lighter spirit.

In anticipation for their first whisky release, Bimber this summer announced its “Founder’s Club”. The aim of the club is to build a community of people who “share our passion and want to be part of a distillery whose mission is to produce a true handcrafted whisky, made with care and traditional methods”. Perks of a membership includes receiving an exclusive cask-strength bottle of single malt whisky, a further three special and rare releases, a tour of the distillery and some other benefits.

The distillery is open for visitors and currently offers two tours; one simple tour & tasting and one more in-depth ‘Connoisseur Experience’. On Tripadvisor, Bimber is listed as a five-star experience with in overall great reviews.

Bimber is clearly off to a great start with its first single malt “The first release” just released on the 13th of September on the whisky-exchange website. The edition was limited to 1,000 bottles at cask-strength of 54.2% and is already sold out.

It is rumored that Bimber’s second expression is planned to be a single malt whisky matured in re-charred American oak casks, expected to be released in October for £65 per bottle.

The Whisky
We were given the opportunity of trying four samples of Bimber’s first whiskies in addition to the un-peated and peated new-make spirit.

The un-peated new-make is fruity and light with a clear malty nose. The taste has a clear character with notes of aniseed, exotic spices and tobacco.

However, the peated new-make retains the malty influence and adds a cloak of peat. The taste is a very powerful black smoke with just a hint of the aniseed and spiciness of the un-peated liquid.

After three years in a virgin oak cask the liquid that can now properly be called whisky has taken on strong citrusy notes with an accompaniment of summer fruits such as water-melon, gooseberries and strawberries. It’s like smelling a whole bowl of fruity sweets.

The taste is mild and pleasant that slowly builds on your palette to a fruity punch bowl with backing of the new-make’s liquorice and spiciness.

In comparison, maturing the same new spirit into whisky in ex-bourbon casks for three years brings out more vanilla and marzipan notes while still preserving the summer fruits.

The taste is of dark, nutty and new-baked bread with spices like clove and aniseed. It’s a lovely, balanced character that stays for a while on your palette.

Moving farther into the line, maturing the whisky in re-charred oak barrels leads to an even sweeter nose with a strong following of vanilla and a hint of roses.

The taste is an explosion of oak and pine together with a summer meadow and exotic fruits and spices such as cinnamon and dates. The lingering aftertaste is slightly bitter but still carrying that signature note of aniseed.

The final expression we got to sample was stored in ex-sherry cask. A strong nose of sweet honey compliments the maltiness of the spirit together with cinnamon and tobacco.

The taste is quite prickly, albeit still sweet and malty with fruity notes of red currants and the persistent liquorice. The aftertaste is a bit shorter than in the American oak expressions.

All in all, Bimber is an exciting new distiller which produces a clean, fruity and fresh spirit. The whisky is flavorsome, light and pleasant. The prevalent maltiness and notes of liquorice is a nice constant through their different expressions. These whiskies are not like anything I have previously tasted and I am finding myself in anticipation of following Bimber’s journey as they mature and develop.