Bimber reveals fourth TfL collaboration
London distillery Bimber has unveiled the fourth release from its Spirit of the Underground collection, produced in conjunction with Transport for London (TfL).
Release No.4 showcases four new stations located in the West End of London: Covent Garden, Green Park, Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus. Bimber's director of marketing and communications, Matt McKay, said: “We’re delighted to unveil the next release in The Spirit of the Underground Collection. “For Release No.4, we’ve aligned the four single cask whiskies with four iconic Underground stations, which all sit alongside each other on London’s Piccadilly line – the adjacency reflecting the full-term maturation and shared intensities that these exceptional casks all showcase.” In contrast to the fortified wine finishes of Release No.3, the latest editions all focus on full-term maturations that have been bottled at natural cask strength and without filtration. The Covent Garden bottling is a liquid fully matured in oloroso Sherry casks, and is presented at 59.2% ABV. It is limited to 321 bottles, and is said to offer aromas of warmed fudge cake served alongside a bowl of freshly picked raspberries. The 59.4% ABV Green Park bottling was fully matured in Muscatel Sherry casks, with 285 bottles available for purchase. It boasts an elegant combination of orchard and stone fruits on the palate, which develops into orange jelly, pineapple chunks, and chocolate and vanilla choux buns. Virgin American oak was used for the full maturation of the Leicester Square bottling, which has a long finish with residual fruits joined by tingly pepper and root ginger. The whisky rests at 60.3% ABV with 271 bottles available. Meanwhile the 314 bottles of the Piccadilly Circus release feature liquid fully matured in Pedro Ximénez Sherry casks, boasting the highest ABV of the collection at 62.1%. It is rich and fulsome on the palate, with notes of fruit-packed Christmas cake, gooey toffee, coffee grounds and dark chocolate. The collection, which will total 44 individual releases, complements TfL’s celebrations of the 160th anniversary of the opening of the Tube this month. Ellen Sankey, brand licensing manager at TfL, said: “We are delighted to once again see Bimber Distillery use our unique brand and heritage in such a creative way, especially as we celebrate the 160th anniversary of London’s first Tube service this January. “Collaborations like this show just how innovatively our designs can be used to bring new ideas and our history together for customers across the world.” The Tube opened on 10 January 1863, with services running on the then named Metropolitan Railway from Baker Street to Paddington. Release No.4 of The Spirit of the Underground Collection will be available directly from Bimber Distillery’s Spirit of the Underground website from Monday 23 January to Friday 27 January via a ballot, with an RRP of £125 (US$154.72) per bottle.
