The wonderful Bimber Distillery has become one of the most sensational stories in modern whisky history. This little distillery was founded in the heart of London and has been winning accolades ever since. They have done everything right in terms of quality, sacrificing efficiencies in the name of character at every turn. It was winning so many fans after its release in 2019 that I reached out in late 2020 to try to bring these special products into the US. The founder, Dariusz Plazewski, had built this little distillery seemingly by the bootstraps and another in Speyside called Dunphail. But alas, he had already found a national importer and we were not able to bring the products in any meaningful quantities. Fast forward to early 2024 and it turns out Dariusz Plazewski isn't Dariusz Plazewski at all, but another man wanted in Poland for various crimes. I was genuinely shocked. He was such a nice guy. That's what they always say. He has since been extradited and is facing trial, and all his interests in the business in the UK have been relinquished. But the founder's indiscretions aside, this awesome little whisky was well worth $100 when we first brought it in, so when the former importer offered this ridiculous price, no bad deed could have stopped me. It's just absurd that we're selling this for such a low price and likely we have one man to thank for that - it's not me! Anyway, don't be shy about drinking this whisky due to its sordid past. We all make mistakes, but buying this for $35 won't be one of them. Let's try it. The color is shimmering pale gold (0.3). The nose is both subtle and full of depth. Big exotic tropical fruits and nut oils mingle with salty baking bread, dark chocolate, jasmine tea, and Chinese five spice. On the palate it delivers creamy red fruit, honey, vanilla bean, toasted oak, and pineapple. It's texturally very creamy and mouthcoating and builds toward a spicy finish. With a tiny bit of water the edges round and the finish lengthens, offering more of the fruit and rich oak toward the end. It's definitely exotic, unusual and yes - youthful, but not at all suffering from "Craft Whisky Syndrome" - a seemingly incurable disease that affects many new distilleries which renders their whisky grain-y, simple and almost impossible to love. No, no, this is seriously good whisky that requires serious premeditation to achieve. While the price is an utter crime, it have you doing some serious soul searching to determine how much space you'll need to free up in the basement and how many trips you can do without your spouse noticing.