Bunnahabhain is bringing Feis Ile, the Glastonbury of the whisky world to Glasgow airport with two new limited-edition releases and an enriching, maritime themed activation, giving travellers the opportunity to taste the whisky and get their picture taken in a space that mirrors the festival.
The Islay Whisky Festival, known as Feis Ile, takes place in the last week of May every year and whisky super fans from all over the world make the pilgrimage to attend events held at all the island’s distilleries. People attending the festival have the opportunity to meet the warm and welcoming people at Bunnahabhain, absorb the breath-taking views of the picturesque Bunnahabhain Bay and visit the distillery to taste whiskies directly from casks in Warehouse 9.
Whisky lovers who are not able to make it to the festival can now get a taste of the Feis Ile experience at Bunnahabhain’s Glasgow Airport activation showcasing two new limited edition 23-year-old whisky releases, Feis Ile Abhainn Araig and Feis Ile Calvados Cask.
Available in a 700ml bottle, non-chill filtered and bottled at 50.8% abv, Abhainn Araig takes its name from the Araig River on Islay, a vital life source for the distillery. It is a marriage of Bunnahabhain spirit that has been matured in ex-Pedro Ximenez sherry, in a selection of octave casks. The bottling has a velvety rich texture, with notes of chocolate, powdered ginger and cigar box on the nose and dark toffee and spicy cinnamon on the palate.
The sublimely sweet and characterful 1998 Calvados Cask Finish is also available in a 700ml bottle, non-chill filtered and bottled at 49.7% ABV. Finished in Calvados brandy casks, this bottle has slumbered peacefully for two decades on Bunnahabhain’s shores before spending the last two years of its life in casks that once held the finest French Calvados. Tawny in colour, this dram contains notes of barley sugar, pear drops and toffee apples on the nose, and green apples, pear candies and toffee on the palate with a lingering floral finish.
Available in markets across the globe, only 850 bottles of Abhann Araig have been made available for travel retail, while 140 bottles of Calvados Cask can be purchased through the channel.
Travellers who buy two Bunnahabhain products at the activation and join the Coterie Club will get a free maritime mug with their purchase. The Coterie Club is a free to join community of Bunnahabhain fans who receive first access to new releases, updates from the distillery and exclusive offers.
Distell International Head of Europe & Global Travel Retail, Luke Maga said: “Feis Ile is a coming together of like-minded, passionate individuals who journey to taste exclusive
drams, share in conversation and meet new people from the global whisky community.
We know not everyone is able to make this pilgrimage, and so these limited edition whiskies allow us to share, Feis Ile with the world. We are also proud of the fact that Bunnahabhain’s distillery, which forms part of the festival’s attractions, is currently on track to become Islay’s first distillery with a net zero emission distillation process.”
Dufry UK’s Liqour Product & Promotions Manager, Paul Martin said: “Dufry is proud to debut the Bunnahabhain Feis Ile activation at Glasgow Airport and we look forward to expanding to other sites. It has been an honour to see many travellers stop to participate and engage with the activation and revel at the chance to in some way experience the excitement and culture of Feis Ile.”
