The distillery in question was Bimber, a London based distillery and the beautifully presented samples included two bottles of their new make spirit and four bottles of differently finished 3yo whisky.
Bimber was founded in 2015 by Darius and Ewelina, immigrants from Poland who, after setting up a successful business in West London, decided to open a whisky distillery. Back in Poland, Darius' grandfather had distilled his own spirits, known as moonshine, and Darius had caught the bug!
Bimber, which means moonshine in Polish, laid down their first cask on the 26th May 2016, so just over three years later we are trying some of their aged spirit from a variety of different casks.
As well as the whisky we also got to try some of their new make spirit, both unpeated and peated.
These had been diluted to 60% but as you would expect were to be treated with care! The unpeated had loads of tropical fruit: pineapple, banana and mango on the nose, some barley and strawberry jam notes too! The 50ppm peated was almost gin like, very oily in the mouth, a lovely smoke note doesn't really show itself until the end as you swallow - expectations are high for the the resulting whisky!
The first dram of the evening was a 3yo ex-bourbon at 51.3%My thoughts: a lovely dark gold in the glass, a lot of colour for only 3 years! Swirls cling to the glass before falling as slow thin legs.
Nose: vanilla & coconut ice cream!
Palate: a lovely smooth creamy arrival, instant spice - it's almost a rye! Vanilla and coconut from the nose joined by black cherries jam. There's a dryness and a little sour citrus at the end.
Finish: long warm and spicy like a good rye. There are some fruit flavours in here too - overall a lovely whisky which hides it's youth and strength well.
Other tweeter's thoughts:
The next dram of the evening was a 3yo ex-sherry at 51.9%My thoughts: again a lovely dark gold in the glass. Gravity defying swirls eventual fall as slow thin legs. Initial nose: fruit and nut chocolate.
Nose: strawberry jam, milk chocolate, hazelnuts and brown sugar. The sherry casks offering all they can in terms of christmas smells!
Icing sugar notes suggest a dryness to come on the palate?
Palate: loads of spice initially, the alcohol burns on this one. Very spicy before calming down to reveal dried fruit, dates, black cherries and a sour citrus note that I also got on the ex-bourbon. Yummy!
Finish: a nice balance of spice and fruit, very drying. The strawberry jam notes dominate. Nice!
Other tweeter's thoughts:
Next up was a 3yo ex-charred at 51.9%
My thoughts: more dark gold action with swirls again eventually falling as slow thin legs. Initial nose: BBQ banana
Nose: BBQ banana with milk chocolate buttons. Some strawberries and honey add to the sweetness. Yummy!
Palate: parma violets, honey and vanilla custard. A small hint of smoke, not as much as the nose suggested. Tropical fruit notes develop after a few sips and again that slight sour citrus note. Yummy!
Finish: the spicy notes dominate but that sour grapefruit note is there. The smoke from the nose didn't really follow though to be fair, maybe the peated new make in a rechar would be good - but maybe better in an ex-sherry?
Other tweeter's thoughts:
The final dram of the evening was a 3yo Virgin Oak at 53.1%My thoughts: Again a lovely dark gold, with swirls that fall as slow thin legs. Initial nose: musty book store.
Nose: very sherry like - musty book store, strawberry jam and a dry spiciness suggesting icing sugar and ginger.
Palate: a big spicy start, instantly drying, vanilla and pear drop notes. Some chocolate caramel notes and lots of brown sugar. Fruit notes follow pear and melon? Again I'm getting a slight sour grapefruit note - a bit of a trend through all of these drams - yummy!
Finish: a nice long balance of fruit and spice, icing sugar dryness. Yummy!
Other tweeter's thoughts:
Overall an amazing set of drams, you'd never have guessed form the colour or taste that they were only 3 years old.
Many thanks to @TheWhiskyWire for organising, @BimberLondon for the drams and my fellow tweeters for a great evening! Virgin Oak followed by Re-Charred were the two best of the evening!
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