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Here is one
to look out for on your travels this
summer, The Balvenie Sixty, the
distillery's oldest and rarest whisky is
set for travel retail debut.
To commemorate David C. Stewart MBE's
remarkable 60th anniversary, William
Grant & Sons is preparing to introduce
four bottles of The Balvenie Sixty, the
distillery's oldest and rarest whisky,
into the travel retail channel. These
exclusive bottles will be available for
purchase at Amsterdam Schiphol, Taipei
Taoyuan, Dubai International, and Seoul
Incheon International Airports, with
only 71 bottles released worldwide.
The Balvenie Sixty is an extraordinary
single cask bottling from 1962, created
to honour the illustrious career of
industry icon and esteemed Malt Master,
David C. Stewart MBE. With six decades
of dedication to the distillery, he
holds the esteemed title of the
longest-serving Malt Master in the
industry's history.
Throughout his tenure at The Balvenie,
David Stewart's expertise and pioneering
spirit have led to unparalleled
knowledge and transformative techniques
that have shaped the whisky-making
processes we know today. His
groundbreaking work on cask finishes, in
particular, has revolutionized the
creation of flavours in whisky.
The single cask chosen to pay tribute to
David Stewart's esteemed career and
groundbreaking accomplishments was
meticulously selected by The Balvenie's
current Malt Master, Kelsey McKechnie,
who has been mentored by Stewart over
the years.
The Balvenie Sixty will be celebrated
and showcased through a series of
distinctive activations at the four
selected airport locations. These events
will be live from July to the end of
August in Amsterdam, Taipei, and Dubai,
with the Incheon event taking place
later in the year.
In Amsterdam, consumers will have the
exceptional opportunity to participate
in a high-end auction for The Balvenie
Sixty bottle, hosted in partnership with
Schiphol Airport Retail. The highest
bidder and winner of this release at the
Amsterdam location will be announced in
early September. With such a limited
number of bottles available worldwide,
collectors are certain to eagerly
embrace this thrilling opportunity. For
those not participating in the auction,
the bottle will be prominently displayed
in the ExQuisite store throughout July
and August, presented on a beautiful
plinth adorned with personal anecdotes
from David's remarkable career.
Martine De Lang, Deputy Managing
Director of Schiphol Airport Retail,
comments: “We’re delighted to be
partnering with William Grant & Sons to
offer our customers this unique and very
special opportunity to own a coveted
bottle of The Balvenie Sixty. The
auction creates added anticipation and
excitement for travellers; the thrill of
bidding and the allure of owning a
‘once-in-a-lifetime’ rare whisky gives
us an amazing point-of-difference. It’s
the perfect attraction to drive consumer
footfall and we can’t wait for the build
up to begin!”
A captivating pop-up installation,
meticulously designed to transport
travellers through the different eras of
The Balvenie, is set to grace Taipei
Taoyuan Airport. This immersive
activation seamlessly intertwines
historical bottles spanning each decade
of David Stewart's career, accompanied
by an enchanting "soundscape" featuring
ambient sounds from the distillery.
To enhance the experience and provide
valuable insights, an audio guide
narrated by Charles Metcalfe, The
Balvenie Global Ambassador, and Daniel
Shen, The Balvenie Taiwan Ambassador,
will accompany visitors, offering a
guided journey through the brand's rich
history and heritage.
For those seeking a deeper understanding
of the brand, a dedicated campaign
microsite will be available. This
interactive platform will offer a
further exploration of the captivating
world of The Balvenie's travel retail
exclusive whiskies, providing
enthusiasts with a wealth of information
and engaging content.
"The Balvenie Sixty is a landmark
bottling that pays fitting tribute to
David’s career at The Balvenie, and
recognises his incomparable contribution
to the whisky industry at large,” notes
David Wilson, William Grant & Sons GTR
Managing Director.
"The fact that we have made four bottles
– out of just 71 worldwide – available
to these four key airports, highlights
the status and significance of the
travel retail channel, and what a valued
showcase it is for luxury releases such
as this masterpiece.
"We are hugely excited to join forces
with our valued retailer and airport
authority partners to highlight this
rare and special bottling to discerning
whisky drinkers and new travelling
consumers."
An honoured toast to a lifetime of
craftsmanship, The Balvenie Sixty
bottled a 42.4% ABV will be released
within Global Travel Retail from this
July 2023 with only four bottles
available at the Amsterdam Schiphol
ExQuisite Store, Dubai T3 Salon Prive,
Taipei Taoyuan T2 and Incheon airports.
If you have no plans to travel in the
near future you will find the current
Balvenie domestic whisky range available from specialist online whisky
shops such as
The Whisky Exchange,
The Whisky Shop,
Master of Malt
and
Hard To Find Whisky
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