South African wines and spirits company Distell and Hong Kong International Airport travel retailer Duty Zero (CDF-Lagardère) today hosted a virtual tasting for Scotch single malt whisky brand Bunnahabhain in a pioneering initiative for travel retail. CDF-Lagardère is a joint venture between China Duty Free Group and Lagardère Travel Retail.
[Click on the YouTube icon to see the great Bunnahabhain single malt whiskies that today’s participants got to taste]
Bunnahabhain and Duty Zero turn virtual into reality Last night when I finally brought a long, long day to an end, I poured myself a small glass of the Bunnahabhain 40yo, cut it with a dash of water, took in the treasure trove of aromas, looked out over my garden through the still dark night and thought everything was good in the world. |
Lagardère Travel Retail Business Director (Spirits, Wine & Beer) – Asia, Scott Hamilton, personally invited 30 of CDF-Lagardère’s VIP customers from China, including Hong Kong, to participate in the virtual tasting of the great Islay single malts. They were joined by The Moodie Davitt Report Founder & Chairman (and whisky lover) Martin Moodie as the sole media representative.
Hamilton led the webinar along with Distell Global Travel Retail Managing Director Luke Maga, and Bunnahabhain Brand Director Derek Scott.
Attendees received their tasting kits prior to the event and were guided through an engaging tasting of five outstanding Bunnahabhain whiskies: An Cladach (a travel retail exclusive); a 12yo; 25yo; 40yo, and 1980 Canasta Cask Finish. Today’s tasting culminated with an exclusive reveal of Bunnahabhain 36yo – the latest edition in the brand’s super-premium Elements Series (see panel below for details).
Luke Maga said: “COVID-19 has forced us to rethink how we connect with consumers and bring the heritage of our brands alive in a digital format. Pioneering travel retail’s first virtual tasting with CDF-Lagardère is a proud moment in our three-year partnership. We are extremely grateful to Scott for facilitating the initiative and for his unwavering support of Distell’s ambition to build our single malt portfolio in Asia.”
Scott Hamilton commented: “The closure of airports this year has evidently made engaging with consumers a challenge, which has fast-tracked the need for a more digital approach in travel retail. The inaugural virtual tasting underlines CDF-Lagardère and Distell’s mutual commitment to offer consumers memorable, innovative experiences in an interactive format.”
[Discover the world of Bunnahabhain in this evocative video]
Derek Scott said: “At Distell, we are passionate about our single malt portfolio and recognise the need to evolve both in product and communication. Whilst we are disappointed that we could not reveal the exclusive 36yo in person, this virtual event provided us an innovative platform to introduce the exquisite one-off bottling to a select group of CDF-Lagardère’s most valued customers.”
| Finishing with a flourish Today’s pioneering tasting culminated with an exclusive reveal of Bunnahabhain 36yo – the latest edition in the brand’s super-premium Elements Series. This limited-edition single malt was exclusively bottled for CDF-Lagardère and only six decanters are available.  On the nose, the whisky offers notes of bitter dark chocolate, treacle toffee, balanced with raisins, dried apricots, and hints of sweet oak. It provides a richer oakiness on the tongue, followed by notes of creamy coffee liqueur chocolates, softened by hints of sweet dried fruits, and the characteristic Bunnahabhain salted nuttiness.At the end of the tasting, attendees had the opportunity to purchase all five of the whiskies they sampled as well as the Bunnahabhain 36yo. |
