The following tasting notes were kindly uploaded by @jwbassman, plz find links to his twitter page and website at the bottom of his notes.
Appearance: A beautiful pale gold in the glass, small beads take a while to form, and then very long, slow legs eventually make their way down the side of the glass.
How long has this bottle been open?: Under 6 months.
Nose: The nose on this dram is something special. It’s probably worth mentioning at this point that I was involved in selecting this cask to be bottled for the Southport Whisky Festival that took place in July 2020. The nose is very vibrant, fruity, and sweet. I’m immediately reminded of those pink foam shrimps I used to love as a kid. Bottled at cask strength, 59.3%, the ABV is very well concealed on the nose. Behind the initial burst of sweetness, there are pears and soft stone fruits, all of which are supported by a beautifully subtle wood spice. The exceptionally high quality of the Bimber spirit shines through.
Palate: The palate is where the true power and elegance of this dram are demonstrated. Following a soft and gentle arrival, the citrus and spice notes build to a crescendo on the palate as the ABV becomes more evident. The mouthfeel is superb. The texture of a whisky is one of the most important aspects of a dram for me – this one does not disappoint, oily, viscous, fantastic.
Finish: The finish is long, the spice notes fall away quite quickly and return to the sweet shop of the nose – exceptionally moreish, it demands you take another sip!
Overall: As is probably very clear from my notes above, I think this whisky is excellent, quite possibly my whisky of the year. If I could buy another bottle of this at RRP, I would – without hesitation. However, I’m not prepared to pay the current auction prices for it.
You can read more about the process of selecting the cask we bottled here – https://www.southportwhisky.co.uk/product/bimber/. Did I mention that I also designed the label for this bottling and created the images too?
I am super excited to see what Bimber has in store for us for our Winter Whisky Festival in December!
The picture accompanying these tasting notes was taken by @jwbassman (Twitter) himself, find his whisky photography @TheWhiskyImage on all social media platforms, (On Twitter here), and Thewhiskyimage.com online
