Bimber debuts first peated single malt whisky
Bimber becomes first 21st century English distillery to entirely floor malt and kiln its peated spirit onsite
‘Bimber The 1st Peated’ displays an ‘in-bottle’ PPM in order to kickstart a new dialogue about what’s actually inside a bottle of peated whisky
London’s Bimber Distillery today announced the upcoming release of ‘The 1st Peated’ – the distillery’s inaugural peated single malt whisky. Crafted from a marriage of four heavily peated American oak ex-bourbon casks, The 1st Peated is entirely composed from the distillery’s earliest fully peated distillation that took place in May 2019.
The release consists of 1,140 bottles at an ABV of 54.1% and possesses an ‘in-bottle’ PPM of 14.4. Bottles are priced at £130 and will be available via a weighted ballot on the Bimber website from Monday 28th November.
The 1st Peated began its journey at Bimber’s single farm (Fordham & Allen in Basingstoke) where 100% of the distillery’s barley is grown. Two-row Concerto was transported to London where it was steeped 3 times over 40 hours before being turned every 8 hours over the following 5 days. The barley was then dried using a combination of dry and wet Aberdeenshire peat by the Bimber team in a custom-made kiln.
The pungently smoked grains were than mashed and fermented for seven days in the distillery’s iconic in-house crafted washbacks, before being unhurriedly distilled using two directly-fired alembic pot stills.
The four casks married together to create The 1st Peated (#463. #464, #470 and #471), were selected to produce the perfect partnership of Bimber’s fruity and textural single malt whisky style with the intensity of fragrant and smouldering Highland peat smoke.
Speaking of the launch, Bimber Founder and Master Distiller Dariusz Plazewski said “The team and I are truly thrilled to be able to share The 1st Peated with whisky lovers. This release represents a major milestone on the continued journey of Bimber and of our single malt London whisky. Not only is it the culmination of several years of investigation and passion, but being entirely produced by-hand, in-house – it is also truly embodies our continued dedication to traditional production methods.”
The 1st Peated is presented with an ‘in-bottle’ PPM, standing in contrast to most other the whiskies which indicate the initial phenolic content of the barley prior to distillation. Distillery spokesperson Matt McKay noted the reasoning behind this decision by stating “For too long the debate about peat levels has been a race to the top. Producers have sought to display the biggest PPM numbers possible without ever trying to contextualise to customers what these numbers mean in terms of the actual peated character of a whisky once it is inside of a bottle.
Barley PPMs ignore the fact that at every stage of the whisky-making process there is a decrease in the volume of phenols present. They also ignore the large variations that distinct production methods across different distilleries have on this inevitable decline. A 50 PPM barley utilised at one distillery will not directly equate to 50 PPM barley used by another. By presenting The 1st Peated with an in-bottle PPM we’re looking to kickstart a dialogue about PPMs which hopefully leads to a more considered reflection of what’s actually inside a bottle of whisky.”
Bimber The 1st Peated
A marriage of four heavily peated ex-bourbon barrels (#463. #464, #470 and #471),
Nose: Pineapple juice and apricot cobbler sit alongside creamy toffee whilst damp, feathery smoke envelopes fallen leaves and touches of salinity.
Palate: A weighty arrival delivers immediate peat influence – smouldering logs, leaf mulch and smoked vanilla fudge. The development unleashes a wave of bright, vibrant fruitiness together with wood spice.
Finish: Mentholated oak with lingering vivid fruit sugars.
70cl
14.4 PPM (in-bottle)
54.1% ABV
RRP £130
Available via weighted ballot from 28th November
About Bimber
Bimber Distillery produces world-class single malt whisky, handcrafted with passion in West London. As a leading distiller of English whisky, we combine generations of rich distilling heritage with the finest quality ingredients to create the ultimate craft whisky experience.