Moët Hennessy Travel Retail has launched the Ardbeg Smoketrails Côte Rôtie Edition, the latest addition to the exclusive Smoketrails collection.
The Côte Rôtie Edition is the second bottling in the range. It marries classic Ardbeg bourbon barrels with wine casks from the Rhône region in the southeast of France. This blend results in a vibrant and peppery expression with casks that add complex minerality and earthiness to the whisky.
Ardbeg Smoketrails Côte Rôtie Edition’s travel retail roll-out began in Asia Pacific with three activations in Taiwan. The first was a high-profile promotion (HPP) with Tasa Meng at Taoyuan International Airport. This was followed by another HPP with Ever Rich Duty Free at the same airport and then Penghu Airport in May and June.
Moët Hennessy Travel Retail is running further Ardbeg activations in key Asia Pacific locations. These include Hong Kong International Airport, Singapore Changi Airport, Hainan downtown duty free stores and selected airports in Mainland China, Australia, and New Zealand including Beijing Capital and Brisbane airports.
At the HPPs, travellers can enjoy whisky tastings and food pairings, immersing themselves in the rich flavours of Arlberg’s latest expression. For every purchase of the Ardbeg Smoketrails Côte Rôtie Edition, shoppers receive complimentary bandanas.
The 46% ABV liquid offers herbal aromas on the nose with scents of damp peat moss, pine resin, fennel and smoked pear, combined with artichoke, olive and pepper.
On the palate, it blends flavours of tar, peppermint, smoked cranberry and blackcurrant with rich dark chocolate and fondant cream. The whisky has a vibrant and peppery mouthfeel with a lingering smoky finish accented with crispy bacon rinds and woodsmoke.
Each edition of the Smoketrails series features Shortie, Ardbeg’s canine mascot, travelling the globe within a cask, symbolising the journey from Ardbeg on Islay to the cask origin. In this edition, Shortie’s journey takes him to the scenic vineyards of Rhône. ✈
