80 Whisky Magazine | Issue 167
WORDS JOE BATES
S
o far, 2020 has already
proven an ‘annus horribilis’
for the travel retail sector.The coronavirus outbreak,
has completely crippled theaviation industry in a matter of weeks,
βcancelled and countless international
trips being put on hold. Countries withparticularly bad outbreaks such as
China, Italy and South Korea have beenhit hardest but this crisis is truly global
in nature.At the time of writing, international
travel hasn’t stopped so if you are stillen route, a browse of the duty-free
shelves might come as a welcomedistraction from all the gloomy
headlines. I am pleased to say the duty-
free whisky launches keep coming too –
The Glenlivet has a rather tempting newtravel exclusive out in the Taiwanese
market, for instance.The Glenlivet 14 Years Old Sherry
Cask has been tailor-made to suit thetypical Taiwanese whisky drinker’s
palate, which tends towards sweeter,sherry-matured styles. The use of 100
per cent Oloroso sherry casks gives thisnew expression plenty of rich sherry
notes. The nose delivers blackberries,blueberries and sultanas, while the
palate offers milk chocolate, hazelnutβ
ǡβǤPriced at TWD1,750 (£38) per bottle,
The Glenlivet 14 Years Old Sherry Cask
is available exclusively at two of Taiwan
Taoyuan international airport’s duty-free retailers: Ever Rich Duty Free and
Tasa Meng.With St. Patrick’s Day still fresh
in the memory, it’s good to see thetraditionally small Irish whiskey offer in
many airport shops worldwide slowlyimproving as the number of brands
available grows and distilleries putmore focus on travel retail. For instance,
Dubai Duty Free has recently launcheda single-cask, single malt Lambay Irish
ǡβǦ
at Dubai international airport.
Lambay Single Malt is a triple-distilled Irish single malt which has
TOUGH TIMES LIE AHEAD
The travel retail trade is facing unprecedentedly tough times due
to the coronavirus outbreak, but new duty-free exclusive whiskies
continue to be launched
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