William Grant & Sons (WGS) has unveiled the first release in The Balvenie Fifty Collection to commemorate five decades of craftsmanship at its Speyside distillery. It has an RRP of £42,500.
The limited-edition series will release 125 bottles annually over the next three years. 13 bottles of the First Edition have been allocated for global travel retail and will be available from September at London Heathrow, Singapore Changi, Taipei Taoyuan, Incheon, Mumbai, Paris Charles De Gaulle, Bangkok, Macau, Hong Kong and Los Angeles airports among others. The Second and Third Editions are scheduled for release in 2025 and 2026.
The Moodie Davitt Report Brands Director Hannah Tan was at The Lanesborough Hotel in London for the exclusive preview of the whisky on 21 August. The event featured a special tasting led by WGS Brand Ambassador Global Travel Retail Europe & Americas Ashvin Kumar Joshi.
It was also attended by WGS Head of Brand Marketing Global Travel Retail Gwilym Cooke; WGS Advocacy, Events & Trade PR Manager Global Travel Retail Ambre Morin and Senior Regional Marketing Manager Africa Radley Connor.
Selected by The Balvenie Malt Master Kelsey McKechnie, the Fifty Collection begins with the First Edition, a single cask whisky drawn from cask number 8720, filled in 1973 and matured in a European oak refill butt.
The Second Edition will feature a second cask — an American oak hogshead filled in 1973 — which will be combined with the first. The series will conclude with the addition of a third American oak barrel, filled in 1974.
The First Edition of The Balvenie Fifty Collection has an ABV of 52.3%. It offers the depth and complexity of the European oak cask while maintaining the distillery’s classic sweet honey character. The whisky offers aromas of deep fruits, cassis and candied apricots, with underlying notes of cedar and nutty spice.
On the palate, it presents a combination of caramelised fruits, rich spice and soft vanilla, along with hints of ginger spice and citrus.
The packaging for The Balvenie Fifty Collection has been designed by the craft workshop Croglin in Cumbria. It features over 100 elements, including a helix structure composed of four layers of wood. The presentation box is completed with a 14-carat gold-plated brass finish.
During the event, WGS also introduced The Balvenie PortWood 21 Year Old which is also launching in travel retail. The 21 Year Old marries rare Balvenie whisky with port casks and pipes. The whisky is described as The Balvenie former Malt Master David C. Stewart’s “finest creation”.
McKechnie commented: “Each edition in this collection is a testament to the craftsmanship that has defined our liquid over the past 50 years. The special characteristics of these rare casks come together to create a truly exceptional experience and set a new benchmark for our contribution to the rare and extraordinary whisky market at Balvenie.
“Using a refill butt for the First Edition in this collection provides us with a distinctive flavour thread that will run through our next two releases, demonstrating the spectrum of flavours and aromas in our aged spirit. It is a celebration of our legacy, our passion, and our unwavering commitment to producing some of the finest whiskies in the world.”
Describing The Balvenie Fifty Collection, Kumar Joshi said: “In all my years in whisky I don’t think, I have seen anything quite like the Fifty Collection. While The Balvenie has released 50, even 60 Year Old expressions before, never has it released a trilogy of 50 Year Olds. This rare and ultra-premium collection is a testament to The Balvenie’s commitment to whisky craftsmanship and heritage.”
According to Kumar Joshi, the allocation of 13 bottles in global travel is a big statement of confidence in the channel. He said: “In the last 24 months, passenger numbers have been going back up and that’s very exciting. From what our Brand Ambassadors are telling us, it seems that travellers are buying less but more qualitatively. They are willing to spend a bit more for better whiskies and a lot of consumers are going back to the brands that they know and love. The onus is on us to give these customers something new and exciting.
“Travel retail is a true window to the world. While not everyone is going to buy a Balvenie Fifty, having this expression in the channel as a ‘showstopper’ does a big brand building job across several layers. Firstly, this rare expression brings customers, whisky connoisseurs and collectors into the shops. For our Brand Ambassadors, this gives them an opportunity to tell The Balvenie story and highlight the other expressions in the portfolio.”
Commenting on how WGS is bringing the rich narrative of The Balvenie Fifty to life, Cooke said: “Our role is to ensure that how we present these releases in travel retail reflects the same care, craft and passion that’s gone into nurturing these liquids across the years. The Fifty Collection is the pinnacle expression for The Balvenie and we need to make sure that comes across.
“To do this, we are working with our retail partners to secure key locations where the products can shine and create a halo effect for the rest of our brands. We are creating beautiful, sculptural plinths with Croglin to showcase The Balvenie Fifty Collection in key locations and these plinths pay homage to the craftsmanship of the presentation boxes.
According to Cooke and the WGS team, rare, ultra-premium releases such as this will play a bigger role in its product innovation strategy now and in the future. “If you look at the IWSR projections for the next five years, the luxury and ultra-premium+ segment of spirits is due to grow by US$4 billion,” he explained.
“That means that four in every ten bottles of spirits will be in that ultra-premium+ price bracket. The market is showing us that there is an appetite for this product and while we’re not the only company that is doing this, we are very well positioned to leverage that growth.” ✈
