Bimber
When you think of a distillery the first thing you picture is the pagoda style roof, maybe the white washed walls and in many cases the array of warehouses surrounding the main buildings.. But.. Forget that when you think of Bimber, located in the middle of an industrial area within the UK’s capital, Bimber is certainly not what you expect a modern distillery to look like but.. And here’s the point, it still manages to transform you into that magical world as soon as you walk through the doors.
Greeted by Luke, the global ambassador and Matt ( The Dramble ) who is now a major component within the set up of Bimber for what was to turn out to be one night that will never be forgotten ! Well when you turn up to a distillery and its the owners Birthday and in case you dont know Darius, he is a very humble guy who like many Polish people i know, knows how to party and be a perfect host to his guests.. Its not often a simple visit to talk Bimber and English whisky, a tasting of 6 ( ish ) whiskies turns into a drinking session that becomes a family type of night that is beyond anything i could have expected..
Anyway, like i said earlier, this is no ordinary distillery, its not really about what they do or how they do it that encapsulated me, its the feeling of family, the way they treat you is second to none and the generosity was unquestionable.. Now what you need to understand is Bimber was born out of a dream, a belief that one man had to walk in his Grandfathers footsteps, his heritage if you like..
Darius, a very proud Polish guy came over to the Uk and made a life for himself and his family, created his dream and gave the world Bimber.. Bimber is the Polish word for moonshine and although they are not making moonshine they are making an extremely impressive single malt that has the whisky world in a right tizzy…
Single cask releases are announced and gone within minutes, vattings are announced and again are gone within hours of release and trying to get hold of the liquid is proving rather difficult. The unfortunate thing is seeing these releases end up on the secondary market quicker than a duck farts but thats another story..
What they have done though, is to start the Bimber Klub, this offers you 2 5cl minis, a voucher for one of the tours and 2 tasting glasses, on top of this you will be given the opportunity to buy a Klub bottling with your unique Klub membership number on the bottle, this will hopefully ensure you drink it rather than become one of the industry flippers that have basically no scruples but that is just an opinion..
Anyway, call me lucky, ingenious or just in the right place at the right time ( i am sure i tried the don’t you know who i am line too, or maybe it was the unscrupulous begging to Darius ) but i managed to walk away with two bottles of this bloody amazing liquid, one was this Sherry cask which is actually the release for Taiwan and the recently released Peated cask ( to be reviewed soon )
Sherry Cask #46 – Bimber
Distillery.. Bimber
Region.. London UK
Age.. Nas
Abv.. 58.5%
Cask.. Sherry ( Oloroso ) ( single cask )
Bottle.. 125
Outturn.. 315
Bottling Date.. 30-6-2020
Nose.. Dates, raisins, plums and the biggest portion of sticky toffee pudding with vanilla ice cream, nutmeg and an old cigar box, coffee beans and chocolate, O the chocolate just melts the heart a little… Black forest gateau, turkish delight and candied orange….
Palate.. The nose just teases what is coming but the palate explodes with those dried fruits and chocolate notes overloading the senses, espresso coffee and freshly picked plums, a little fresh apple peel and terry’s chocolate orange just make you slouch in the chair and smile..
Finish.. spices, fruits and a melting feeling
Thoughts.. Slap me sideways and stand me up again.. How the hell do Bimber keep giving us such a bloody full bodied, intense experience so early in the journey ? Everything they give us just hits the spot, there is no bullshit, no ridiculous hype other than that created by us, the consumer who literally climb over each other to get a fix..
These guys are about quality, about giving the consumer a product that they are proud off, no “its not quite ready yet, but we want you to taste our product” and the small output really does equate to quality over quantity, at 50,000 litres a year the demand is going to outstrip availability for some time, the constant need to obtain a bottle or two will increase and the fanbase of Bimber will grow..
The one thing that i will take away from my visit and from the tasting that later occurred is this night will be embedded on my memory for a very long time, so massive thanks to those involved..
ocdwhisky.com 