London’s Bimber Distillery recently joined whisky maker Compass Box to reveal “Duality,” a blend of malt whiskies that the two collaborated on.
In a prepared statement, the two distinct, yet connected whisky makers noted that each of their expressions will be released at the same time.
These Duality whiskies explore the symmetry and contrasts of Sherry-matured whiskies and heavily peated malts. Both whiskies are made up of locally-sourced ingredients from both England and Scotland … working in harmony.
London’s Bimber Distillery recently joined whisky maker Compass Box to reveal “Duality,” a blend of malt whiskies that the two collaborated on. (image via Bimber)
And both Duality expressions are now available directly from each whisky maker’s website.
The London-based operations saw the Duality releases created collaboratively from Bimber’s Matt McKay and Compass Box’s James Saxon, as they worked together to explore the range of base whiskies from both Bimber’s growing warehouse and Compass Box’s Scotch archive.
Each whisky maker selected a distinctive sherried and peated element for their individual Duality blended malts.
Bimber’s Duality, their officials noted, draws on a vibrant, fruity Bimber whisky taken from a peated ex-bourbon cask. It was blended with some of a first-fill sherried malt from Glendullan Distillery. Bimber will release 340 bottles, and clocks in at 54% ABV. It has a suggested price of £120.
The Compass Box Duality uses a core of smoky whisky from Ardbeg Distillery and blends it with rich Pedro Ximénez-matured Bimber whisky. The release is made up of 1,050 bottles, each clocking in at 52% ABV. It has a suggested price of £180.
Bimber’s Matt McKay said, “It’s been a pleasure to create Duality with a team as passionate and inventive as Compass Box. The end results speak not only to the mindsets and approaches of both a distillery and a whisky maker in conjunction, but also to the incredible versatility of the component malts which have been selected for blending. The Bimber Duality bottling is the first time our London whisky has been utilized in conjunction with malts from different distilleries … we’re incredibly proud of the result and are delighted to have collaborated with Compass Box to produce this duo of Dualities.”
James Saxon, from Compass Box, said that he’s been a “huge admirer of Bimber” since visiting there in September of 2020, his first distillery tour after lockdown.
“I’ve wanted to find a way to bring the attention to detail and distinctiveness of Bimber’s spirits into a Compass Box project since that day. Working with the Bimber team, we created Duality and a pair of releases to celebrate our West London whisky-making connection. Duality is unlike anything we have made at Compass Box before … the weight and texture the Bimber brings to our heavily-peated Islay malt is truly compelling.”
For more information or to find a bottle, check out www.compassboxwhisky.com and www.bimberdistillery.co.uk.