Bimber is London's first whisky distillery in over a century, and the Ex-Bourbon Cask is the expression that best captures the distillery's house style. Where the sherry and wine cask releases showcase wood influence, the bourbon cask lets Bimber's spirit speak most clearly — and it has a great deal to say.
The production is obsessively artisanal: floor-malted barley, hand-mashing, seven-day fermentation in handmade wooden washbacks, and distillation in small copper pot stills. The whisky is aged in ex-bourbon casks that previously held American whiskey, drawing out vanilla, honey, and toasted oak without overwhelming the spirit's distinctive character. Bottled at approximately 52% cask strength.
The nose is intense and inviting: toasted oak, vanilla, honey, light malt, Terry's Chocolate Orange, kindling, and apricot jam. The palate delivers brown sugar, toffee, vanilla cream, cereal sweetness, and a depth that belies the spirit's relative youth. The seven-day fermentation creates a fruity, ester-rich distillate that gives Bimber its signature complexity.
The finish is medium-long, with oak, vanilla, and a malty sweetness lingering. London has a new whisky tradition being built, brick by brick, cask by cask, and on the evidence of the Ex-Bourbon, the foundation is exceptionally solid. Bimber proves that great whisky does not need a Highland postcode.
