At the recent TFWA World Exhibition, CVH Spirits revealed Bunnahabhain’s The Uncharted Coast, an exclusive collection for travel retail worldwide.
The move comes amid an accelerated focus on the company’s Scotch whisky business in the channel.
Featuring four expressions, including two new releases, the range aims to “capture the spirit of Bunnahabhain’s remote and rugged northern shoreline”, said the company.
Launching in Spring 2026, The Uncharted Coast brings together a unified collection for travel retail, highlighting Bunnahabhain’s signature style as the “unpeated, sherried, Islay authority in single malt Scotch”. It carries refreshed packaging designed to enhance visibility, with the goal to deliver stronger impact and greater standout on shelf.
In a first for Bunnahabhain’s travel retail range, the distillery has released an age statement ‘Bàgh Garbh’ (Scots Gaelic for Rugged Bay) which is a 13 Year Old Amontillado Cask Finish. See tasting notes below.
The second new release in the collection is Trì Seudan (Three Jewels in Scots Gaelic) which is a marriage of three sherry casks; Manzanilla, Fino and Palo Cortado.
Completing the collection are two existing bottles, An Cidhe (formerly An Cladach) and Cruach Mhona which is the range’s peated expression and current highest performing SKU in travel retail.
Master Blender Julieann Fernandez commented: “This collection reflects the passion of our team and the growing demand from whisky appreciators globally. Each bottle captures the character of our remote coastal home — unpeated, sherried and unmistakably Bunnahabhain — offering a true taste of our distillery to whisky lovers throughout the world.
“Our core Bunnahabhain range heavily features Oloroso sherry casks and while we wanted to stay true to our heritage I deliberately used a mix of sherry casks across our new releases to allow for a point of differentiation for this important channel.”
CVH Spirits Global Head of Commercial Paul Scanlon said: “I’m excited to showcase our new releases and explore opportunities for growth with our partners. Our ambition is to make Bunnahabhain a leading name in global travel retail.”
Head of GTR Lynsey Eades said: “The launch of The Uncharted Coast demonstrates our ambition to grow global travel retail as a key market. It was important to us to take on board the valuable feedback from customers and consumers and offer a differentiated range which really showcases the true characteristics of our island home.”
Speaking to The Moodie Davitt Report about the new exclusives and plans to enhance Bunnahabhain’s presence and visibility in travel retail, Scanlon said: “Travel retail is our best performing region or channel, led by Bunnahabhain, and we are excited to bring news about the refreshed travel retail range.
“The new expressions offer an amazing opportunity in a category and a channel that is critical for this brand, and customers have been wowed not just by the liquid but the packaging too.”
Following Heineken’s acquisition of Distell in 2023, CVH Spirits was established as an independent entity, with its Scotch distilleries to the fore. Its collection is led by single malts Bunnahabhain, Deanston, Tobermory and Ledaig, alongside blended whiskies Black Bottle and Scottish Leader. The company also provides UK domestic distribution for Angostura bitters and rum and Satryna tequila, as well as having its own domestic distribution in Taiwan, a key Asian market.
Scanlon – who has over 30 years in the spirits industry, including senior leadership roles including International Commercial Director at Chivas Brothers and Managing Director of Pernod Ricard Southern Africa – joined the business on 1 September. He said that after a period of transition since 2023, the business was now fully geared up for growth with Scotch whisky as the driver.
“We probably don’t shout loudly enough about our brands, and the great stories behind them, Bunnahabhain in particular. The strength of the company today is that it is 100% Scotch focused.”
He said CVH Spirits was committed to expansion in travel retail, alongside the UK, US, India and other strong Scotch markets.
“We are working hard on establishing or re-establishing key partnerships and we plan to invest behind our brands in travel retail. With the organisational changes we have made, the focus is on the UK as our new centre of gravity.
“Now our job is to talk about our brands’ diversity of taste and our global appeal, with the vast amount of stocks we can call on with Bunnahabhainn at the core as the definitive Islay sherry malt.”
Of the new range, Lynsey Eades said: “We see these age statement additions really supporting our growth in Asia, which is led by our aged range. We have a good global footprint but now we are going to do more activations, talk about the packaging, host more campaigns and shout a bit louder about what we do best. We see markets like India as having huge potential with their focus on Scotch and on age.
“We now need to ensure we have got the right products in the right places in travel retail to accelerate our growth further.” ✈
The Uncharted Coast – Key details
Bàgh Garbh – 13 Year Old Amontillado Cask Finish
Bottled at 50% ABV, this expression carries notes of treacle toffee and spiced orange.
ABV: 50%; non-chill filtered; no added colour.
Price: £79.99 per litre
Tasting Notes
Appearance: Amber gold
Nose: Warm notes of toasted hazelnuts, dried figs, and orange marmalade lead the way with a hint of polished oak and a touch of sea air. A light floral note is present, with honeyed malt and a gentle spice.
Palate: Initial burst of sultanas, treacle toffee, and spiced orange peel unfold, with a touch of dark chocolate and clove, balanced with dark berries, sweet vanilla and a hint of tobacco.
Finish: Lingering notes of roasted walnuts, dried fruit and a touch of cinnamon.
Trì Seudan
A marriage of three cask types, Manzanilla, Fino and Palo Cortado sherry, for depth, balance and richness.
Described as a whisky of “depth, balance and richness”, it is bottled at 50% ABV, and provides the coastal salinity that Bunnahabhain is known for, intertwined with lemon zest.
ABV: 50%; non-chill filtered; no added colour
Price: £60 per litre
Tasting Notes
Appearance: Warm, amber-gold
Nose: Bright and vibrant, with coastal salinity front and centre, intertwined with lemon zest, crisp nuttiness, dried apricot and touch of roasted barley.
Palate: A lively combination of toasted hazelnuts, white peach skin and polished oak, brought together with salted caramel, fresh grapefruit and a touch of dried chamomile.
Finish: Salty sea spray and lemon zest linger, with toasted oak and a gentle spice.
An Cidhe
A marriage of two cask types: Bunnahabhain matured in ex-sherry casks and in ex-bourbon casks.
ABV: 50%; non-chill filtered; no added colour.
Price: £48 per litre
Tasting Notes
Appearance: Amber gold
Nose: Dried fruit, caramel and vanilla with rich sherry notes.
Palate: Creamy and smooth with rich sherry, nuts, spice and briny coastal undertones.
Finish: Long and lingering with hints of dried fruit.
Cruach Mhòna
A marriage of two cask types: Bunnahabhain matured in ex-sherry casks and in ex-bourbon casks.
ABV: 50%; non chill filtered; no added colour.
Price: £56
Tasting Notes
Appearance: Pale gold.
Nose: Crisp and lively sweet peat, with herbal hay, dry smoke and burning grass.
Palate: Starting light, malty and sweet, developing into smoky white pepper and seaweed saltiness. Finish: Lingering dry smokiness with seaweed and spice.
