A new GTR-exclusive Fifteen-Year-Old takes centre stage as The Balvenie unveils its latest Limited-Edition collection through an immersive airport experience.
William Grant & Sons has marked the Global Travel Retail launch of The Balvenie ‘The 1931 Collection’ with a major activation across Incheon International Airport, bringing the collection’s enduring story of craftsmanship, artistry and human endeavour to life for travellers.
At the heart of the launch is The Balvenie 1931 Collection Fifteen-Year-Old, a Limited Edition available exclusively through Global Travel Retail. Created to honour The Balvenie’s largely unchanged Home Floor Maltings, in operation since around 1931, the expression is made from 100% home-grown barley from The Balvenie Mains Farm and 100% Home Floor Malted, a distinctive expression of the distillery’s Five Rare Crafts.
Initially matured in American oak casks, the Fifteen-Year-Old is finished in ex-Sherry Bodega European oak butts from Jerez, Spain. The result is a rare expression of The Balvenie’s classic style, with velvety, rich and honeyed notes leading to a sweet, lingering finish. The whisky is non-chill filtered and bottled at 47.8% ABV.
The expression forms part of The 1931 Collection, which takes its inspiration from a defining moment in The Balvenie’s history. In 1931, the distillery’s newly constructed Home Malt Floor opened, establishing a foundation for the traditional malting craft that remains central to The Balvenie’s approach today. The collection comprises an extraordinary Eighty-Eight-Year-Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky – the oldest whisky ever released by The Balvenie – alongside Twelve-Year-Old and Fifteen-Year-Old Limited Editions, each embodying the spirit of the distillery’s enduring craftsmanship.
The Incheon launch brings these elements together through a series of immersive retail experiences across the airport. A full takeover of The Balvenie’s Shop-in-Shop in Terminal 2, alongside HPP takeovers at Shop-in-Shops across Terminals 1 and 2, invites travellers to discover the story behind the 1931 Collection alongside The Balvenie core range.
The experience brings the expression’s distinctive liquid credentials to life, from its 100% home-grown and Home Floor Malted barley to its maturation and finishing, while also introducing consumers to the artistic vision behind the collection’s packaging, designed in collaboration with world-renowned contemporary artist Daniel Arsham, an artist whose work combines structural experiment with historical enquiry. Arsham’s interpretation of The 1931 Collection draws on the passage of time and The Balvenie’s enduring craftsmanship, with the packaging for the Twelve-Year-Old and Fifteen-Year-Old connected visually to the sculptural form he has created for the Eighty-Eight-Year-Old.
The collaboration builds on a shared fascination with time and craftsmanship. As Arsham noted when the partnership was announced, the collaboration is rooted in a shared respect for process and time, reflecting the common ground between his artistic practice and The Balvenie’s time-honoured approach to whisky making.
The Incheon activation is further amplified by a month-long out-of-home campaign spanning Terminals 1 and 2, extending the presence of the Fifteen-Year-Old Home Malt beyond the retail environment and placing the GTR-exclusive expression at the heart of the airport experience.
Rufus Parkinson, Managing Director, Global Travel Retail, said: “Global Travel Retail offers a unique opportunity to bring The Balvenie’s craftsmanship and heritage to travellers around the world. The Fifteen-Year-Old Home Malt is particularly meaningful in this regard: made from 100% home-grown and Home Floor Malted barley, it connects directly to the origins of our craft and the enduring character of The Balvenie. Bringing The 1931 Collection to life at Incheon allows us to share that story through an experience that goes beyond the liquid itself, creating a distinctive moment for travellers to discover the artistry behind every bottle.”
The Incheon programme will continue throughout September, with further activations planned across Terminal 1 and 2 The global travel retail activation programme will then extend to Taipei and London Heathrow in October, further bringing The 1931 Collection and its artistic interpretation to travellers in key international travel hubs.
The 1931 Collection Fifteen-Year-Old is available exclusively through Global Travel Retail from September, offering travellers the opportunity to discover a Limited Edition rooted in The Balvenie’s longstanding commitment to its Five Rare Crafts and the traditional skills that have shaped its spirit across generations.
