There are moments in whisky that feel genuinely historic, and Bimber's The First Release is one of them. As someone who has spent the better part of fifteen years with a glass in hand — mostly filled with Scottish single malts, I'll admit — I approached this bottle with both curiosity and a healthy dose of scrutiny. English whisky is still proving itself, and any distillery bold enough to label something "The First" is making a statement that invites judgment. Bimber, to their credit, have earned the right to make it.
This is a non-age-statement single malt bottled at a robust 54.2% ABV, and that cask strength presentation tells you something immediately: Bimber are not interested in making whisky that fades into the background. At £800, this is squarely a collector's bottle — a piece of English whisky history as much as it is something to drink. But I did drink it, and I'm glad I did.
What to Expect
Without published tasting notes to lean on, I'll speak to character. This is a whisky that carries itself with a confidence you don't always find in younger single malts. The high ABV gives it weight and presence, but there's no sense of it being punishing or raw. It drinks like a whisky that was carefully selected from what must have been a limited pool of casks — the kind of decision-making that separates serious distillers from opportunists.
As a single malt at cask strength, expect a rich, full-bodied experience. The lack of chill filtration and the natural strength suggest Bimber wanted nothing between you and what came out of the barrel. That philosophy is one I've always respected, whether the distillery sits on Speyside or in West London.
The Verdict
I'm giving Bimber The First Release an 8.3 out of 10, which I don't do lightly for any inaugural bottling. The price is steep — there's no getting around that — but you're not just paying for liquid here. You're buying a genuine piece of English whisky's opening chapter, bottled at full strength with no compromises. The quality of the spirit justifies the ambition, and that matters enormously. Too many new distilleries rush product to market before it's ready. Bimber have clearly exercised patience and judgment, and the result is a single malt that stands on its own merit rather than riding novelty alone.
Is it worth £800? For collectors and those who want to own a tangible marker of where English single malt began its serious ascent, absolutely. For the curious drinker who simply wants an excellent cask-strength whisky, there are more affordable paths — but few with this much story in the glass.
Best Served
Neat, full stop — at least for your first pour. Give it ten minutes in the glass to open up, then add a few drops of water to see how it responds at that 54.2% strength. A cask-strength single malt of this calibre deserves the time. No ice, no mixers. This is a whisky you sit with.
