Side by side: Bimber's Shoulders of Giants Series

@BimberLondon have recently released a set of 6 Shoulders of Giants bottlings.

These are showcasing the growing maturity of their single malt whisky. Bimber sent me some samples to review - let's see what they are like!

"Crafted with admiration, and drawn from our growing inventory of fruit-forward single malts, the Shoulders of Giants pays homage to a diverse tapestry of thinkers, innovators and visionaries whose contributions to our world and society continue to resonate to this day. 

The Shoulders of Giants releases showcase the growing maturity and complexity of our single malt whiskies, with each giant offering its own distinctiveness – both inside and outside of the bottle"

Three are UK Exclusive

Dram	Dickens - The Novelist	Newton - The Mathematician	Shakespeare - The Playwright
Characteristics	Ex-bourbon Cask #398 259 bottles 58.3% ABV	Lightly peated Ex-bourbon Cask #467 259 bottles 58.3% ABV	Ex-beer Cask Finish #517/30 271 bottles 57.7% ABV
Distillery notes	This release has been fully matured in a 1st fill American oak ex-bourbon cask and has been bottled to celebrate Charles Dickens contribution to our appreciation of literature. Offering vibrant sweet tropical fruits, a syrupy honied texture and perfectly integrated wood spice, it is a reflection of the growing maturity of Bimber’s single malt whisky.	Celebrating Sir Isaac Newton’s contribution to our understanding of science, this lightly peated release has been matured in a 1st fill American oak ex-bourbon cask. It is fruit-forward and classically Bimber, with notes of pineapple and papaya weaved with delicate threads of smoke and char.	Honouring William Shakespeare’s contribution to the English language, this release has been additionally matured in an ex-beer cask. This unique single malt whisky has been drawn from the distillery’s first release of ex-barley wine casks, created in partnership with French brewery La Debauche. Rich and bold, it combines stone and tropical fruits with smooth caramel, complex maltiness and hints of nutty umami on the palate.
My thoughts:
Appearance
	Mid gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line bead up and fall as slow thin oily legs.	Mid gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line bead up and fall as slow thin legs.	Mid gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line bead up and fall as slow thin legs.
Nose	Honey, tropical fruit: pineapple, mango, kiwi, banana and some icing sugar. There's some stewed orchard fruit and a hint of spice to come. There's a little vanilla and a hint of dunnage funk.	Gentle smoke, tropical fruit and icing sugar. Similar to the Dickens but with a gentle layer of heathery smoke. Again there's a little hint of dunnage funk - a mustiness from an older cask.	More signature honey, tropical fruit and icing sugar but this one has a little more oomph. Dried pineapple, peach, banana. There's a marzipan note and some grilled Cumberland Sausage with a hint of IPA beer.
Palate	Thick, sweet, syrupy arrival with a kick of ginger spice. The tropical fruit, honey and icing sugar from the nose are back here with a bang! Typical Bimber ex-bourbon notes with a hint of vanilla and a lovely ginger spice. There's a little hint of almond fudge as the liquid disappears.	Another thick, sweet, syrupy arrival but this one is smoky all the way down. Loads more smoke than suggested by the nose. The tropical fruit and icing sugar notes are here but it's really dominated by the dry ashy smoke leaving the mouth dry and wanting more.	Again a thick, sweet arrival (cask strength Bimber always has a great mouthfeel). This time it's a little chewy, with some stewed apple, caramel sauce, cinnamon spice and a hint of spilt beer. A huge salted lemon note  with some chalk as the liquid disappears leaves the tongue dry.
Finish	Lingering honey, pineapple and ginger spice.	Medium length, sweet honey and dry ashy smoke with a little spice.	Long dry and spicy with a little tropical fruit.
Overall	Dickens (ex-bourbon) was everything you'd expect from a single cask, cask strength Bimber: honey, tropical fruit and icing sugar. Yummy! Newton (peated ex-bourbon) is labelled as lightly peated but it has to be the most heavily peated of the 3 or 4 peated bottlings I've tried. The nose suggested heathery peat but the palate is all ashy and dry. Yummy! Shakespeare (ex-beer) cask is my favourite of these 3, lovely tropical fruit and spice with a little IPA beer edge that just ticks all of my boxes!

Three are Polish Exclusives

Dram	Copernicus - The Polymath	Chopin - The Composer	Curie - The Scientist
Characteristics	PX Cask Finish #241/18 300 bottles 56.8% ABV	Fino Cask Finish #513/28 328 bottles 52% ABV	Oloroso Cask Finish #250/15 300 bottles 57% ABV
Distillery notes	We honour Nicolaus Copernicus’s contribution to our understanding of astronomy with an additional maturation in an indulgent single Pedro Ximénez sherry cask. This unmistakable cask has delivered notes of dried fruits, dates and rich chocolate on top of our trademark tropical fruit character.	Frédéric François Chopin’s contribution to our appreciation of music is celebrated with an additional maturation in an exquisite single Fino sherry cask. This distinctive release offers rich, nutty undertones alongside a crisp core of zesty fruity.	We offer a tribute to Marie Curie’s contribution to our understanding of radioactivity with an additional maturation in a delightful single oloroso sherry cask. Offering figs and raisins alongside caramel, dark chocolate and subtle undertones of oak, this release is combines our house style fruitiness with the true character of oloroso sherry maturation.
My thoughts:
Appearance
	Bronze in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line bead up and fall as slow thin oily legs.	Dark gold in the glass, swirls cling as a hairline crack, form tiny beads which eventually fall as slow thin legs.	Dark gold in the glass, swirls cling as a hairline crack, form tiny beads which eventually fall as slow thin legs.
Nose	Sherry soaked dried fruit, figs and dates. There's some cherry lips, liquorice, coffee and a hint of dark chocolate. A little tropical fruit and caramel.	A little musty to start: 2nd hand bookshop style. Some walnuts, almonds and dark chocolate. There's a little salinity, blackboard chalk dust and a hint of  struck match sulphur.	Very jammy: plums, strawberries and cherries. Some dried fruit, figs and a lovely marzipan nutty note. There's quite a lot of citrus here too: lemon zest, orange juice and a bite of lime.
Palate	Thick sweet arrival: golden syrup, cherry jam, dates and sultanas. There's a lovely salted caramel dark chocolate note. Tropical fruit, plums and a lovely cinnamon spice round things off.	Thinner than the other 2, a little spicy and Fino dry. Salted marzipan, a little sulphur and a bite of peppery spice. Some tropical fruit. There's a lovely lemon zest note and dry icing sugar left on the tongue as the liquid disappears.	Thick sweet arrival: honey, caramel and icing sugar. Surprisingly dry. There's lots of dried fruit notes, some lovely plum, figs, dates and some citrus zest. A little salinity and spice on the tongue as the liquid disappears.
Finish	Lingering sweet syrup, dates and cinnamon spice.	Dry and spicy with some stoned fruit and icing sugar.	Lingering fruit, spice and salinity.
Overall	Copernicus (PX) was the sweetest of the 3, typical PX notes beautifully layered over the Bimber distillery characteristics. Nice. Chopin (Fino) was very dry and spicy as expected but still with lots of tropical fruit and citrus. Curie  (Oloroso) was a bit of a surprise, a lot dryer and spicier than expected. None of the balsamic vinegar drizzled strawberry notes I'd expect from Oloroso but very tasty!

Like I said with the recent London Underground release I don't think you'll be able to buy bottles of these anymore but I'm sure they will soon be available on auction sites. I'd go for the Shakespeare and Curie  if you can get them - level drams!

Thanks very much to Bimber for the chance to try them.