Bimber is Polish slang for moonshine. It is not a random name for a distillery on an industrial estate in north west London. The founder's family has been distilling in Poland for generations, and the name is a nod to the kitchen table where it all started.
Expert description
Bimber London Vodka is an English Vodka from Bimber Distillery in Park Royal, distilled from wheat and barley and bottled at 40%.
Bimber opened in 2015 and is known above all for its Single Malt Whisky, which went from unknown to sought after in under five years. The distillery does almost everything itself: floor malting its own barley, fermenting slowly in wooden washbacks, distilling in direct fired copper pot stills and running its own cooperage. That is a way of working most Scottish distilleries abandoned on cost grounds long ago.
The vodka is made from wheat and barley and arrived so that bars could pour a house spirit with the same origin as the whisky. It has not been pushed so hard that all the grain is gone. A light citrus edge and a soft grain sweetness remain, which makes it more useful in a Vodka Martini than a fully stripped industrial vodka.
London has no long tradition in vodka, but the city has distilled gin for centuries, and that craft lineage is what Bimber leans on. The range today covers whisky, gin, vodka and a handful of cask aged curiosities, and volumes are still small enough that every batch gets tasted through.
Tasting notes
Nose
Clean and light with clear lemon peel on top. Beneath it sits a soft grain aroma, close to freshly milled flour.
Palate
Soft and rounded with a light sweetness from the wheat. The barley adds a little structure halfway through, and the citrus freshness holds.
Finish
Short to medium and clean. The citrus stays longest, and there is no sharp alcohol edge.
Specifications
Name: Bimber London Vodka
Distillery: Bimber Distillery
Region/Country: London, England
Type: English Vodka
ABV: 40%
Size: 70 CL
Distillation method: Distilled from wheat and barley
EAN no.: 5060444430561
Serving suggestion: Cool and neat, or in a Vodka Martini with lemon peel. Works well in a Vodka Soda with lime too.
Flavour profile
Citrus · Soft · Grainy · Clean
Did you know?
Bimber is one of very few distilleries in the United Kingdom that floor malts its own barley. It is a slow, space hungry method where the grain is turned by shovel on a floor rather than in a machine, and British spirits production largely gave it up during the twentieth century.
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