In celebration of David C. Stewart MBE’s 60th anniversary, William Grant & Sons is preparing to introduce four bottles of The Balvenie Sixty – the distillery’s oldest and rarest whisky – into the duty-free channel. One bottle will be available to purchase at Amsterdam Schiphol, Taipei Taoyuan, Dubai International and Seoul Incheon International Airports. Only 71 bottles of this luxury limited edition have been released worldwide.
The Balvenie Sixty is a single cask bottling from 1962. It marks the anniversary of industry icon and renowned Malt Master, David C. Stewart MBE, who celebrated six decades at the distillery in 2022, making him the longest serving Malt Master in industry history.
Throughout his time at The Balvenie, David Stewart developed unrivalled knowledge and pioneered transformative techniques that have had a profound impact on the whisky making processes used today. Most notably, his developments around cask finishes have led to a new way of creating flavour in whisky.
The single cask selected to honour David Stewart’s esteemed career and ground-breaking accomplishments was chosen by The Balvenie’s Malt Master Kelsey McKechnie, who has been mentored by Stewart over the past years.
The Balvenie Sixty will be celebrated and showcased via a series of distinctive activations at the four selected airport locations, live from July through to the end of August in Amsterdam, Taipei and Dubai. The Incheon event will take place later in the year.
In Amsterdam, consumers will have the chance 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 location’s release will be announced in early September. With so few bottles available world-wide, collectors are sure to jump at this exciting opportunity. For those not participating in the auction, the bottle will be displayed in the ExQuisite store throughout July and August, on a beautiful plinth showcasing personal annecdotes from David’s 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!”
An impactful pop-up installation, designed to take travellers on a journey through the different decades of The Balvenie, is planned for Taipei Taoyuan Airport. This immersive activation connects historical bottles dating back to each decade of David’s career, with a ‘soundscape’ that features ambient sounds from the distillery.
An audio guide narrated by Charles Metcalfe and Daniel Shen, The Balvenie Global and Taiwan Ambassadors respectively, will guide consumers through the history and heritage of the brand.
For those interested in learning more about the brand, a campaign microsite will be available to further explore the world of The Balvenie travel retail exclusive whiskies.
“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 ABV 42.4% will be released within Global Travel Retail from July 2023 with only four bottles available at the Amsterdam Schiphol ExQuisite Store, Dubai T3 Salon Prive, Taipei Taoyuan T2 and Incheon airports.
For more information visit: www.thebalvenie.com
