KENTUCKY OWL® RELEASES THE WISEMAN™ BOURBON

BARDSTOWN, Ky. Stoli® Group Kentucky Owl® is announcing the release of The Wiseman™ Bourbon, its first Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey produced and distilled by Kentucky Owl® in collaboration with the Bardstown Bourbon Company, both located in The Bourbon Capital of the World — Bardstown, Kentucky. The product is a blend of Kentucky Owl® 4-year-old wheat and high-rye bourbons, along with 5 ½-year and 8 ½-year-old Kentucky-sourced bourbons.

 Kentucky Owl Wiseman Bourbon

“The Wiseman™ Bourbon is an artful balance of soft wheat and spicy high-rye that provides a smooth but complex bourbon designed to drink neat, on the rocks or in a cocktail,” said John Rhea, Kentucky Owl® Master Blender. “The product leads with a beautiful caramel flavour and aroma followed by notes of allspice, citrus fruit and a nudge of oak.”

This is the first Kentucky Owl® release under Rhea, who began in June. Rhea previously served as Four Roses Distillery’s chief operating officer, where his responsibilities included quality control, maturation, evaluation and product blending. He was inducted into the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame in 2016 and served as chair of the Kentucky Distillers’ Association board of directors.

“The Wiseman™ is the beginning of the next chapter for Kentucky Owl® and Stoli® Group,” said Damian McKinney, Global CEO of Stoli® Group. “As a family of exceptional brands, we are continuing to evolve, innovate and grow across all segments of the spirits market.”

Stoli® Group, the leading global ultra-premium spirits and wine company, purchased Kentucky Owl® in 2017. Originally founded by C.M. Dedman in 1879, the Kentucky Owl® Bardstown distillery went dark during the Prohibition era and remained dormant until a descendent revived the brand in 2014. Since then, the company’s small batch releases have sold out quickly and received rave reviews.

The Wiseman Bourbon (90.8 proof/45.4% ABV, $60/750mL) is the latest addition to the Kentucky Owl® portfolio, with its last blended bourbon, Confiscated, released in 2019. The Wiseman will soon be available through a limited number of fine retailers across the distillery’s national distribution footprint.

Accolade Wines to introduce game-changing rPET flat bottles for Banrock Station and Hardys in Cannes

Innovation to bring huge spatial and carbon footprint benefits to the travel retail wine category in the air and on the ground

Accolade Wines will be introducing a major carbon footprint-reducing development for the travel retail industry to the wine category at the upcoming TFWA World Exhibition & Conference in Cannes (Yellow Village D26).

The wine company will be presenting environmentally-friendly rPET (recycled polyethylene terephthalate) bottles, which will initially house a range of wines from Hardys and Banrock Station. rPET is created by recycling previously used plastics, including plastic bottles.

This game-changing innovation – developed with Acccolade Wines packaging manufacturing partner Garçon Wines – is a sleek, flat 75cl rPET bottle that is only 40mm deep with an easy twist cap. 

100% recycled, rPET requires 75% less energy to produce than traditional bottles, emitting 79% less CO2 than a virgin PET (plastic) bottle. 

The bottles are also themselves 100% recyclable, with each bottle weighing just 63g – six times lighter than average 75cl glass bottles. Each bottle is 40% spatially smaller, enabling 2.3 times more wine to be fitted on pallets, cutting logistics costs and reducing CO2 emissions by 60%.

Each bottle can be fitted through a letterbox, and has the perfect ergonomic design for duty free, fitting very nicely into hand luggage.  

As well as on the ground travel retail stores, Accolade will be introducing the innovation to airlines, with many obvious benefits to the industry. The rPET bottles will bring a significant reduction in weight to store wines, which in turns lessens the carbon footprint of commercial flights. 

Jeff Bond, Senior Regional Manager EMEA, Accolade Wines said: “I think this innovation is a fantastic fit for the travel retail channel both in the air and in ground stores. We are actively pursuing opportunities with airlines, airports, and cruise and ferries. Indeed, we are already in discussion about the bottles with some of the world’s biggest airlines and travel retailers. 

“We are very much looking forward to the conversations we will have about the rPET bottles and the wines that will be contained within them in Cannes, an event that has always been associated with innovation.

“We’re not looking at any exclusivity arrangements for the rPET bottles, which will be used initially with our Hardys and Banrock Station wines. That’s because we firmly believe that these bottles need to come into use as widely as possible across the world because of the major contribution they will make to the travel retail industry’s carbon footprint. 

“I don’t think it is overstating things to say that our introduction of the rPET bottles is a game-changer for the whole wine category in travel retail, and in the wider market.”

Nuwave Channel Partners to showcase Bitmore 100% recycled plastics electronics and travel ranges in debut Cannes appearance

 Travel and technology product manufacturer and distributor Nuwave Channel Partners is excited to announce that it will this year make its first ever appearance as an exhibitor at the TFWA World Exhibition & Conference in Cannes (Blue Village F6).

 

The company’s major focus at the event will be on its fast-expanding range of technology products, produced especially for the travel market under its successful and well-established Bitmore brand. 

The USP of the products is their use of recycled plastic and reclaimed wheat straw as base materials, as part of the company’s stated aim to reduce plastic waste in travel retail. 

 

In addition, Bitmore products come with biodegradable packaging and use environmentally friendly water-based inks.

 

The 100% recycled plastic range includes more than 25 products covering powerbanks, QI chargers, headphones, speakers, cables and wellness and travel accessories. Many of these products come with a choice of colours.

 

Speaking about why his company is focusing on sustainability as a driver in its product offer, Nuwave Channel Partners CEO Hoj Parmar said: “Research has shown that the general consensus of travelling consumers is that they would make a conscious decision to favour products or brands with sustainable aspects, whether it is reducing the use of plastic and other environmentally-unfriendly substances in the manufacture of products or using recycled materials for packaging. 

 

“It’s with this in mind that we continue to develop products, including our recycled plastic Bitmore ranges, under our ‘eco:sense’ banner, and pursue a wide range of other sustainability goals within our business. 

"We want to offer consumers a choice of products that can help them to minimise their individual carbon footprints – that’s a very important focus for us at Nuwave Channel Partners, and we hope it resonates with potential retailers and airlines who share the same goals.”

 

To cement these commitments, Nuwave has recently been certified with the RSC standard, which is proof that the company has a regular and fully audited trail to prove that the plastics it uses are 100% recycled. 

 

Further underlining Nuwave’s sustainability credentials, the company has also recently achieved accreditation to the CSR-A Silver Standard. The accreditation is a visible testimony of excellence in social responsibility and helps Nuwave to integrate social, environmental, ethical, human rights and consumer concerns into its business operations and strategy.

 

The TripClip Travel Pro, a product which recently won a major travel retail award (the TRBusiness Travel Retail Awards Best Travel Accessories Product 2021), will also be on display at the Nuwave Channel Partners stand in Cannes.

 

Invented by Joe Shortt and manufactured and distributed in travel retail by Nuwave, the worldwide patented TripClip Travel Pro is unique, simply solving the issue of having to hold your electronic device whilst on board an aircraft or other mode of transport. 

 

The product has no complex mechanical parts, and no batteries are needed for it. The lightweight, compact device attaches simply and securely to seatbacks in seconds.

Nuwave's product line-up for Cannes is completed by its Lego range of travel-exclusive products and accessories, for which it holds the status of exclusive distributor for European region travel retail.

 

Pre-pandemic, many products from Nuwave Channel Partners’ ranges were sold on more than 50 international airlines. Hoj Parmar reports that as the air travel market picks up, many of these clients are coming back on board, including some of the world’s biggest airlines. 

 

He points out that the TripClip product has been the top seller on board Ryanair in recent months and the environmental credentials of Bitmore 100% recycled plastics products will be a catalyst for building up that airline business once again.

 

Excitingly, Parmar says he is also currently in discussions with several major travel retailers, covering Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and the Americas, to see products from Bitmore appear on the shelves of airport stores for the first time. He hopes to use this debut appearance at Cannes to bring his products to the attention of more international travel retailers and airlines.

 

Looking forward to the Cannes event, Parmar said: “Given the exhaustive safety protocols in place, there is no reason why this kind of show cannot go ahead, just as long as people are able to travel to them. People are sure to behave responsibly in these environments and most delegates will be double vaccinated by the time these shows take place, if they are not already.

 

““Virtual events are great in many ways, but there is no substitute for that face-to-face meeting; that opportunity for potential customers to see your product ranges in person. We’ve simply got to get back to normality in my opinion, life has to go on – we can’t be kept wrapped up in these cocoons and bubbles forever.

 

“It has long been an ambition of mine for Nuwave to have its own dedicated exhibition space at the TFWA World Exhibition, so I’m very proud that we have a presence at the event in October, even in a year when pandemic issues are sure to affect attendance levels.”

Ricola takes travel retail tins to TFWA WE

 Ricola is delighted to return to the TFWA World Exhibition this year, where it will be focusing on its 90g tins with sugar, Original Herb and Lemon Mint (Mediterranean Village, N9).

First launched last autumn, Ricola sees TFWA World Exhibition as the perfect opportunity to give these two SKUs a further push as the industry begins to recover from Covid-19.

Alongside the sugar-included range, Ricola will also highlight its existing travel retail exclusive tins, multipacks and pouches, including travel-inspired designs for its 200g tins. 

Andreas Reckart, Vice President Sales Middle East & Travel Retail for Ricola, says: “By adding a sugar-included  range, we believe we are offering consumers a more balanced and rounded selection that will widen the overall appeal of Ricola.”

Ricola exhibits at TFWA WE after a summer that, continues Reckart, has “seen a satisfactory increase in business within our key European market.

“2021 has certainly been more dynamic than 2020, however we are still very far from what he had in 2019. The main drivers of this increase were the airport, ferry and border trade channels, which have all seen benefits from the resuming regional traffic,” he says.

Business in the Middle East is also starting to see positive result, adds Reckart, but Asia, with the exception of Hainan and Jeju, is still almost non-existent.

“It has obviously been a terrible couple of years for the industry, but our commitment to travel retail and strategy to develop our busines remains as strong as ever,” says Reckart. “For sure, we are really happy that TFWA World Exhibition is taking place physically this year and that we will finally be catching up with our partners in person. Let us hope that 2022 will see the industry start to flourish once again.”

CircleSquare explores key Chinese luxury shopping trends in case study-rich report

Retail marketing, brand experiences and consumer engagement specialist CircleSquare has released an in-depth report into the Chinese luxury market with a wide variety of insights into reaching a new generation of consumers from the world’s most populous country.

 

The 50-page study – titled China: Defining the new luxury – covers the key cultural trends that are influencing the way Chinese luxury customers think, shop and buy, and highlights them using numerous case studies featuring worldwide luxury and home-grown Chinese brands.

 

The report – which has a particular focus on targeting the Gen Z shopper, the young and affluent demographic which is set to become the dominant luxury consumer group in China by 2025 – focuses on four key cultural trends identified by CircleSquare. These are GuoChao (literally “national pride” and a growing trend across the China), Shoppertainment (and the search for escapism), Conscious Luxury (the rising impact of environmentalism, sustainability, diversity and empowerment) and Seamless Experiences (the expectation of a personal relationship with brands).

 

The report concludes with key takeaways, including guiding thoughts around disruption, innovation, storytelling, experience, loyalty and personalisation.

 

CircleSquare Managing Partner Stephane Zermatten said: “Despite what we are told, the brand experiences that appear to work in Paris, New York or Milan are actually lagging way behind the zeitgeist of what the fast-evolving Chinese customers expect from luxury brands.

 

“Brands need to be ready to serve their customers where they are across a multitude of touchpoints in a proactive, consistent and personalised manner to build relationships and long-lasting loyalty. Only the brands who have replaced their universal approaches with personalised experiences and customised products for the Chinese market will succeed in the next five years.

 

“With our report, we have set out to investigate the key trends which are shaping the luxury market in China and offer insights on how brands can succeed in engaging with and ultimately capturing the business of China’s new generation of luxury shopper.”

Lanson brings two new Cuvées to Cannes

 

Champagne Lanson returns to Cannes this year with two new and exclusive cuvées, giving visitors to the exhibition their first opportunity to taste since launch.

Le Black Réserve was created by Hervé Dantan, the house winemaker to offer a Lanson non-vintage Brut combining freshness, complexity and fullness in order to seduce wine and gastronomy connoisseurs.

Aged for 5 years and containing a blend of 100 Crus and 70% Grand and Premier Crus, Le Black Réserve has an intense and mature fruity taste combined with an ample and refined texture, a citrus and chalky freshness mixed with density and vitality.

Le Blanc de Blancs was also created by Hervé Dantan, to magnify the freshness of the Lanson style, combining it with the finesse of Chardonnay. Le Blanc de Blancs is aged for a minimum of 5 years with a blend of 15 Crus and 70% Grands and Premier Crus, it is revitalising and fresh on the palate, with noters of candied lemon, almond, nougat, honey, candied orange bark, and a touch of chalk.

Le Black Réserve and Le Blanc de Blancs are both exclusive to Duty-Free, Wine retailers and On-premise. The high quality of these new cuvées has been recently recognised by the great marks given by Wine Enthusiast (96 points-Highest score of the Brut Non-vintage category and the Editor’s choice).

Says Edouard de Boissieu, Head of Travel Retail “We’re delighted that TFWA World Exhibition is taking place this year as travel retail continues to be a key market for Lanson moving forward.

“While the business has continued to be challenging, Champagne Lanson has experienced some excellent sales on domestic markets with strong sales in Oceania, the US and the UK, in some cases with results well ahead of the Champagne sector average. This we see as extremely encouraging for us as our repositioning has been clearly well perceived internationally, which is sure to have a knock-on effect in travel retail as business continues to improve.”

Long term, de Boissieu remains enthusiastic about the opportunities in Australia and New Zealand where domestic sales have continued to outperform the category in 2021 following impressive sales growth in 2020  of  +25% and +35% respectively.

“With this positivity for the Lanson brand, we are returning to Cannes this year with a great deal of optimism and confidence,” he says. “Most of all, we’re looking forward to seeing our many customers, colleagues and friends for the first time and – naturally – to raising a glass of Champagne Lanson!”

Ritter Sport introduces new packaging design concept targeting higher travel retail visibility and focusing on sustainability

 The colourful world of Ritter Sport is launching a new packaging design concept this autumn for its Travel Retail Edition range with the brand’s enduring sustainability mindset and visibility in the travel retail marketplace a key strategic focus.

Ritter Sport is targeting the travel retail market with updated packaging designs that feature across its bestselling products. The packaging targets the sustainability minded traveller with redesigned paper-based packs, as the iconic German chocolate brand launches its new ‘Taste Chocolate in Full Colours’ advertising campaign for trade media this autumn.  

The updated packaging design conveys an emotive brand message of joy and goodness, fun and wanderlust, while the new colourful and travel themed branding design has been created to underscore Ritter Sport’s commitment to its exclusive travel retail product range. 

The shift from plastic to paper and rougher cardboard packaging, which plays into a more natural look and feel, represents the brand’s enduring focus on sustainability. The objective is to communicate to the global traveller the existing sustainability credentials of Ritter Sport products due to the tactile feeling of the packaging.

Formed in 1912 and providing distinctive splashes of colour across the confectionery landscape since the mid-70s, Ritter Sport has been working on redefining its travel retail exclusives offer in a crowded market. 

Ritter Sport’s colourful packaging makeover is focused on design elements derived from a propeller logo; a colour code which is related to the respective flavour varieties contained in the pack; while the signet logo, with the recognised colourful world map, distinguishes the exclusivity of the products for all travellers at a glance.

Sustainability is at the heart of Ritter Sport’s drive - already a key component of the brand’s philosophy for the last 30 years. Ritter Sport wants to further communicate its sustainability purpose: doing the right thing to create really good chocolate. A first step is the on-pack QR communication where space has been created on all packaging. Travellers have the opportunity to learn about Ritter Sport’s sustainability engagement via a quick scan of their device. Core topics are 100% certified sustainable cocoa supply chain (including the new Rainforest Alliance logo), as well certified packaging material FSC, climate neutral company and a lot more.  

By 2025, the brand wants to complete its updated packaging journey from plastic to paper and for its entire range of chocolate bars or individual choco cubes and minis to use fully recyclable plastic foil wraps and pouches. The company’s goal is to use Ritter Sport packaging made from renewable raw materials that are in harmony with man and nature and can be recycled as a valuable material. 

The new design of the exclusive travel retail packaging aims to position Ritter Sport as the most colourful, impactful and sustainable pioneer in travel-retail confectionery. Ritter Sport is also working to create a holistic brand experience for travellers.

Nicole Miltenberger, Marketing Management Travel Retail for Ritter Sport, said: “We felt it was time the Travel Retail Edition range really stood out with its own packaging concept. The new exclusive design celebrates Ritter Sport’s hero products. The propeller logo design aims to be more colourful, more impactful and more exclusive. We wanted to translate the emotion of travel and wanderlust into a new colour coded design and packaging concept that encapsulates the sustainability that Ritter Sport stands for.”

“To be a finalist of the Travel Retail Awards voted by shoppers in September 2021 with the Ritter Sport Choco Cubes Pouch (50 pieces) confirms our ambitions and demonstrates that we are going in the right direction to fulfil consumer needs,” continues Miltenberger.

Lanson to highlight Champagne and ‘bistronomie’ at Nice airport this autumn

 

Champagne Lanson has partnered with Lagardère Travel Retail to offer travellers departing through Nice Airport T2 a Champagne experience based on ‘bistronomie’ (a casual version of gastronomy).

Taking place from August 31 to October 25, the HPP will promote Lanson’s most recent cuvées: Le Black Réserve and Le Blanc de Blancs, both of which are exclusive to travel retail, wine retailers and on-premise outlets.

During the HPP, a sommelier – specially trained at Maison Lanson, will be animating the Champagne tasting, pairing Le Black Réserve and Le Blanc de Blancs with different cheeses to demonstrate how different, and sometimes unexpected, flavours can work well together.  

As an added incentive, travellers are offered a price off on purchases of Le Black Réserve, Le Blanc de Blancs, Le Rosé, and Twin-packs (TR exclusive).

Champagne Lanson worked with Paris based Globe Group (https://www.globe-group.com/fr/)  to develop the HPP. Creating a ‘green’ concept was high on the agenda for the agency, with sustainability, eco-friendly and zero waste the three key focuses. 

 “We’ve been very impressed by the efforts and enthusiasm of Globe,” says Lanson Head of Travel Retail Edouard de Boissieu. “They’ve done a really fantastic job in a very short space of time.”

Says de Boissieu: “This is a new style of HPP for Lanson and our intention is to give the consumer more than just a taste of Champagne, reinforcing our ambition to position the brand at a premium quality level by building the gastronomy story around it. Food pairings are an ideal way to do this, and we think it will provide a very pleasant experience for consumers as they leave Nice airport. Nice is the perfect venue to hold this HPP especially as it will be the perfect preview of these two cuvées before the presentation at TFWA World Exhibition and we are grateful to Lagardère for this opportunity.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4_dSbAFpHo&t=14s

Aurora commits to Cannes with Eco Nation range – and more to come

 

Plush specialist Aurora World has announced its commitment to attend the upcoming TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes (24-28 October) this year.

The decision comes on the back of Aurora seeing promising recovery in its travel retail business, particularly in Europe where holiday traffic has begun to pick up with families accounting for a significant percentage of volume.  The company can also report that it has enjoyed one of its best July sales performances ever, fuelled by high demand in domestic markets in the UK, Europe and the US.

Says Aurora’s Head of Travel Retail Garry Stoner: “It has been an incredibly challenging 18 months and we are nowhere near back to 2019 levels as yet, but orders are now coming in from our travel retail partners and sell-through is encouraging. For us, it’s key to keep that momentum going and TFWA World Exhibition & Conference is an essential date in the diary for showcasing our new collections and discussing promotional concepts with customers.”

Aurora’s Eco Nation range, and sustainability in general, will be a strong focus in Cannes with a major expansion of this concept planned for Q1 2022.

Since its launch in Q1 this year, Eco Nation has been listed for more than 200 travel retail locations globally. Each piece is 100% sustainable, made from recycled and natural materials. While many recycled plush products can be rougher in texture, Aurora has spent time refining its production process to keep a smooth and gentle feeling to each product. 

Each Eco Nation plush product uses 8 recycled bottles, shredded into pellets that are melted into yarn which is then used to make plush. This combination of quality product and quality impact led Eco Nation to become a Toy of the Year 2021 finalist in the plush category. 

“We are very excited to be returning to Cannes this year with our Eco Nation range and invite all attending retailers to come and ‘feel’ for themselves the quality and softness of the latest collection. 

“We will also be announcing some exciting new brand partnerships, and I personally am looking forward to finally reconnecting with the trade in-person as we start to rebuild our business,” says Garry Stoner, Aurora’s Head of Travel Retail. “

(See link below to a short video on Eco Nation).

https://youtu.be/IZZmecYBJQk

THE DALMORE DECADES

A once-in-a-lifetime selection of six exceptional single malt whiskies celebrated through the release of three unique collections that tell the story of The Dalmore’s relentless pursuit of excellence through six decades.

Donation from the global auction at Sotheby’s of a unique one-of-a-kind collection of six rare Single Malts in October will be made to V&A Dundee as part of a four-year partnership with the arts powerhouse celebrating design, creativity, and vision. 

 

The Dalmore Highland Single Malt is proud to present The Dalmore Decades, a one-of-a-kind selection of exceptional whiskies, spanning six decades. From one of the oldest liquids released by The Dalmore to the first Scotch created in the new Millennium, the collection celebrates the visionary creators and stories behind each bottle and a once-in-a-lifetime chance to own these iconic pieces of history.

Demonstrating the craftsmanship of The Dalmore’s whisky, each decanter tells a magnificent story of the Highland Single Malt maker’s relentless pursuit of excellence. Celebrated in the release of three extraordinary Collections, the first truly unique set of six whiskies, the No.6 Collection, will be offered at auction by Sotheby’s in Hong Kong in October 2021, as part of the company’s autumn sales series. A significant percentage of the sale will be donated to Scotland’s design museum and the first V&A Museum outside of London, V&A Dundee.

The Dalmore recently unveiled its long-term commitment to the design and creative sectors via its four-year partnership with V&A Dundee. In a world-first collaboration, the fastest growing luxury single malt whisky* is working with Scotland’s design museum to champion and nurture creative talent. The relationship is anchored in a relentless pursuit of excellence as champions of Scottish culture, and in exporting shared purpose, talent, and stories. The four-year collaboration allows V&A Dundee and The Dalmore to curate and advocate for exceptional design on a global scale.

A pioneer in the art of cask curation, over the last 50 years Master Distiller Richard Paterson has been on a mission to push the boundaries in whisky production and seeking to optimize potential over time. The Dalmore Decades is Paterson’s personal selection and a culmination of his custody of the exceptionally rare casks the distillery enjoys.

Paterson commented: “Over the past 50 years, I have kept a watchful eye over our superlative inventory of rare whiskies, giving them the guidance to mature and reach their full potential in the finest casks sourced from around the world. Each bottle marks a very special milestone in the brands history and has a unique story to tell, which I hope the lucky collector will enjoy with those closest to them – if the last year has taught us anything, it is that life is to be enjoyed now. This collection is a memento of our 180-year history in the making. We are proud to share the pinnacle of six decades of whisky making, the result of potential earned and honed over time.”

The one of one, six bottle Collection to be auctioned via Sotheby’s is comprised of:

The Dalmore Decades 1951 – ‘Royal Heritage’ 

A 60-year-old single malt, matured in twin sherry casks, one can expect to find whispers of black treacle, ginger spice, and cocoa powder. The astonishing 1951 is one of the oldest whiskies ever released by The Dalmore, and the last of the whisky distilled during the Mackenzie era. Founders of the Distillery, it is the Mackenzie family heritage that allows The Dalmore to proudly display the 12-point royal stag on each and every bottle.

The Dalmore Decades 1967 – ‘Expertly Composed Spirit’ 

An impeccably elegant 53-year-old single malt, laid down in 1967, a landmark year in which the stillhouse as it stands today was created. This single malt provides complex but wonderfully intriguing layers of clementine, tangy ground coffee and muscovado, thanks to its final maturation in a Mont-Redon Châteauneuf-du-Pape wine barrique.

The Dalmore Decades 1979 – ‘Curating Exquisite Casks’ 

This 40-year-old single malt is a tribute to the longstanding relationship between González Byass and The Dalmore. The 1979 has enjoyed maturation in a particularly fine Matusalem Oloroso sherry butt before a final maturation in a Graham’s Port Vintage 1952 – one of Port’s rarest vintages. The resulting whisky is exuberant sultanas and toasted pistachios, finishing in pleasant notes of maple syrup, pineapple, and succulent dates.

The Dalmore Decades 1980 – ‘Unbroken Chain of Visionaries’

The 1980s marked Richard Paterson’s arrival at The Dalmore and his tutelage by the last Mackenzie. Like his predecessor, Richard’s long-standing tenure personifies a commitment to the vision of the distillery established 180 years ago. This 40-year-old single malt takes the traditional maturation of The Dalmore and reverses it: the whisky moves from Bourbon casks into Matusalem sherry butts, then spends more than five years back in first-fill ex-Bourbon casks before bottling – a bold move which brings renewed life and vivacity to the spirit. The 1980 promises beautifully orchestrated single malt layers, which include a gentle whisper of bitter chocolate, marzipan, and cocoa powder.

The Dalmore Decades 1995 – ‘The Creation of an Icon’ 

The 90s welcomed the creation of an icon The Dalmore’s minimalist bell-shaped bottle, its sinuous curves echoing the voluptuous shape of the stills through which the distillery’s matchless spirit runs. The 1995 is matured in ex-Bourbon casks and finished in spectacular Tintilla de Rota port pipes. It offers a burst of red berries, glazed nectarines, frangipane, and moist pecan pie on the palate, building to a triumphal finish.

The Dalmore Decades 2000 – ‘Into the New Millennium’ 

At 12:02am on Saturday, 1 January 2000, as the world celebrated the dawn of a new age, workers at The Dalmore were at their posts securing a notable achievement for the Highland distillery: the first in Scotland to run new spirit off the stills in the third millennium, officially witnessed three minutes after midnight.

The final whisky of The Dalmore Decades is also perhaps the most distinctive: it has spent all 20 years of its life in a Matusalem Oloroso sherry butt in a radical departure from the distillery’s practice. Rare and intriguing, black maraschino cherry and bitter chocolate drench the palate, and a final kiss of liquorice and tarte Tatin ebbs slowly in the background. While it took 20 long years to craft this unique spirit, its exceptional quality can be recognised in a matter of seconds.

Alongside the truly unique No. 6 Collection, The Dalmore will extend the opportunity for collectors to acquire a remarkable piece of history, releasing 15 one-of-a-kind, collectible Decades sets – the No.5 Collection, containing five masterpiece Decades whiskies through the years (1967, 1979, 1980, 1995, 2000). Each of the 15 sets is truly unique: mirroring the colours of the brands Principal Collection, each decanter will feature a different and distinctive coloured stopper. Bottles will be engraved with an exclusive set number, presenting a compelling opportunity for established and new collectors alike. Every set is presented on a stunning pedestal that owners will take home to display as their own masterpiece. Each No.5 Collection set will be sold exclusively through the finest retailers in the world including 5 set in the prestigious Travel Retail Channel - China Duty Free Group (Hainan), Duty Zero by cdf (Hong Kong International Airport), Ever Rich Duty Free (Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport), LOTTE Travel Retail Singapore (Singapore Changi Airport) and DFS during the famous Master of Wine and Spirit showcase in Macau. Other retailers in domestic markets include Harrods (UK), Wally’s Wine & Spirits (US) and Le Bon Marché (FR) with an RSP of £200,000 / $270,000. 

Alongside the No.5 Collection, the No.4 Collection of 25 covetable sets, each containing four Decades whiskies (1979, 1980, 1995, 2000), will be made available to purchase. Mirroring the No.5 Collection, each unique decanter will be engraved with an exclusive set number and striking black collar and stopper, presenting a once in a lifetime chance to capture four remarkable moments in Scotch history. Each set will be displayed within one bespoke display pedestal, with individual compartments to house each decanter, and with each whisky’s unique story engraved upon the door. Each No.4 Collection set will be sold exclusively through retailers including 4 sets in the Travel Retail Channel – China Duty Free Group (Hainan), Dufry (London Heathrow T5) and LOTTE Duty Free (Incheon International Airport), alongside Selfridges (UK), Annabel’s (UK), La Grande Épicerie (FR) and to view at Fairmont Pacific Rim Vancouver (CA), Waldorf Astoria (NL) with an RSP of £100,000 / $135,000. 

The Prestige Plus price segment within the Malt category in GTR has been the most dynamic in the past years and the only price band still growing dynamically in GTR during the Covid impact (according to IWSR 2020). ‘Travel Retail is the ideal channel to showcase exceptional masterpieces from The Dalmore in our customers' duty free shops and digital channels, allowing us to recruit millions of luxury consumers into the brand franchise. We only wish we could have more of these exceptional masterpieces from The Dalmore in order to meet the incredible demand for it in the travel retail channel,” commented Richard Trimby, Travel Retail Director, Whyte & Mackay.

The Dalmore Decades No.6 Collection will be auctioned by Sotheby’s in Hong Kong in early October. For more information, please visit www.thedalmore.com or www.sothebys.com/wine. 

Glenfiddich fuels transport fleet with breakthrough green biogas made from its own whisky residues

Glenfiddich, the world’s most-awarded single malt Scotch whisky, has launched a pioneering ‘closed loop’ sustainable transport initiative that will make it the first global spirits brand to run its delivery fleet on green biogas made from the residues of its own distilling process.

Using a unique technology developed by its parent company William Grant & Sons, the Glenfiddich distillery at Dufftown in north-eastern Scotland converts its production wastes and residues into an Ultra-Low Carbon Fuel (ULCF) gas that produces minimal carbon dioxide and other harmful emissions. 

Fuelling stations have been installed at the distillery, and the biogas is now powering specially converted trucks that handle the transportation of the Glenfiddich spirit at all stages of its production at the Dufftown distillery through to bottling and packaging, a journey that covers four William Grant & Sons’ sites in central and western Scotland. Local road users will soon get used to seeing trucks bearing the proud statement: ‘Fuelled by Glenfiddich - turning whisky waste into Ultra Low Carbon Fuel’.

Stuart Watts, William Grant & Sons’ distilleries director, said: “Glenfiddich is appreciated around the world as a unique single malt whisky, which is the result of generations of pioneering craftsmanship and concern for the long-term sustainability of the spirit.

“It has taken more than a decade for Glenfiddich to become the first distillery to process 100% of its waste residues on its own site, then to be the first to process those residues into biogas fuel to power its trucks, and finally to be the first to install a biogas truck fuelling station supplied by our on-site renewable energy facility. 

“Across the entire production lifecycle, the biogas reduces carbon dioxide (CO2e) by over 95% and other harmful particulates and greenhouse gas emissions by up to 99% when compared to diesel and other fossil fuels. Each truck will displace up to 250 tonnes of CO2e annually, which has the same environmental benefit as planting up to 4,000 trees every year - the equivalent of displacing natural gas, a fossil fuel, from 112 households.”

Mr Watts added: “William Grant & Sons has been a pioneering distiller for more than 130 years, always exploring new processes and techniques to create sustainable benefits for our business and communities.  

We are proud of these renewable energy breakthroughs in our industry as we scale up the de-carbonising benefits of this closed-loop process across our entire transport fleet.”

Claudia Falcone, Glenfiddich’s global brand director, added: “Our consumers have a maverick mindset that encourages us to push boundaries. As a family-owned business we think in the long term whether our focus is on the sustainable measures we employ at the distillery or on producing the world’s most awarded single malt. Our green biogas transport fleet is absolutely in line with our brand ethos of ‘Where Next’ - always challenging ourselves not to rest on our past achievements but to always look for what is coming next.”

The ‘Fuelled by Glenfiddich’ breakthrough is an example of the brand’s actions to reduce the environmental impact of its production process. It is one of a range of sustainability activities taking place across William Grant & Sons’ wider business in line with the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA)’s roadmap to achieve targets set out under the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, which will be a main focus of the UN COP26 Climate Change Conference in Glasgow this November.

The SWA’s four main areas for industry action are: tackling climate change by having net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040; moving to a circular economy by making all packaging reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025; hitting responsible water use targets by 2025; and caring for the land through the active conservation and restoration of Scotland’s peatland by 2035.

After launching Glenfiddich’s green biogas vehicles, William Grant & Sons will scale up the de-carbonising benefits of the Ultra-Low Carbon Fuel closed-loop process across its entire transport fleet and its industry supply chain, and is planning to make the technology available across the Scottish whisky industry to support the decarbonisation of transport in line with UK and Scottish governments’ net zero targets.