Aroma: On the nose, this is a rich, full bodied whisky. There is a rich, sweet boozy Christmas cake fruit aroma, which reminds me of the days in early autumn when my mum used to start preparing that year’s Christmas cakes. There were sultanas, raisins, cherries and lemon rind, all left to sit in sherry. There is a leathery depth, which is somehow musty and rich.
Taste: In keeping with the aroma, there is a gentle brown sugar sweetness to much of the start of this dram. As such it is moreish, silky and easy to drink, which given the high ABV is genuinely surprising.
As the dram widens and opens out, there is a warming black pepper spice. This heat isn’t overbearing, but gently builds and widens out across the palate. Here you also find the musty leather of the nose appearing, alongside similar stone fruit flavours.
Finally, you are left with a creamy, nutty, milk chocolate sweetness to the final flavours.
Appearance: Reddish golden brown.
Real Dram Factor: It is genuinely difficult to imagine that this whisky is only three years old. It has a real depth of sherry flavour, with the Pedro Ximenez maturation very big, fruity and fusty in the mix. I look forward to future releases that might give us more deinfinton about what makes a Bimber whisky, a Bimber whisky. However this is a treat of a whisky, which develops with drinking and this sample provided me with a very enjoyable hour or so. Making it a solid 8.0 for me.
You Will Like This If… you like your whisky sherried, fruity and sweet.
ABV: 54.2%
Price: £120 per bottle, with a limited release of 1000 bottles.
Source: Sample sent by the distillery.
More Information: https://www.bimberdistillery.co.uk/post/announcing-bimber-the-first
Buy Online: SOLD OUT SADLY – It went pretty quickly online, but you can still get in on the ground floor if you fancy shelling out £400 on a membership of The Founders Club – https://www.bimberdistillery.co.uk/product-page/purchase-a-founders-club-membership