Bimber is an English whisky distillery in North Acton, London, founded in 2015 by Dariusz Plazewski and Ewelina Chruszczyk.1,2,3
Bimber filled its first cask on 26 May 2016.4,5,6 In 2019 it began floor malting barley itself and kilning it by hand with Aberdeenshire peat, for its first peated single malts.7,8 It peated that barley to 50 PPM, parts per million of phenols measured in the malt after kilning.8 In August 2019 it fitted a larger mash tun and 3 more wooden washbacks, the vessels where the wash ferments.9,10
Its barley comes from a single farm in Hampshire.10,12,13 The barley for its first whiskies was malted on its own dedicated floor at Warminster Maltings in Wiltshire.10,12,13 In 2020 it had 7 open-topped washbacks made of American oak.1,9,10 Bimber says the wooden vessels let the wash breathe, which builds fruity flavours called esters.1,9,10 Bimber says its seven-day fermentation is about double what most distilleries in Scotland use.1,4,10 In 2020 both stills, Doris and Astraeus, came from Hoga in Portugal; steam brought them up to temperature, then gas fired them directly.1,4,10 Bimber says this direct fire lets it distil slowly for a full-bodied spirit.1,4,10 Its shell and tube condensers, which turn vapour back into spirit, are copper too.1 In 2020 Bimber said its process water was tap water from the Thames basin.14 Bimber calls its spirit fruit-forward.10,15 It says high copper contact during distillation helps build the esters behind that fruity character.10,15 It fills its spirit into casks at 63.5% alcohol by volume and favours ex-bourbon casks as its house style.1,15,16 Its own cooperage, a cask workshop on site, checks, repairs, re-sizes and re-chars its casks.1,15,16
In February 2024 co-founder Dariusz Plazewski gave up all his duties at Bimber.17,18,19 He handed decisions and day-to-day running to co-founder Ewelina Chruszczyk and Matt McKay, director of whisky creation at Dunphail, the founders' other distillery.17,18,19 In December 2024 the London Distillery Company named McKay its managing director, a move that would see him leave his Bimber role.17
Bottles in Peated distilled at Bimber, by release year.
| Year distilled | Bottles |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 1 |
| 2020 | 3 |
| 2021 | 2 |
| 2022 | 5 |
| 2023 | 1 |
| 2024 | 5 |
| 2025 | 6 |
| 2026 | 3 |
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