Shilla Duty Free is putting the spotlight on whisky at its stores at Seoul’s Incheon International Airport with a special pop-up dedicated to The Balvenie Sixty, the oldest ever liquid from the brand, released to mark the anniversary of industry icon and former Malt master, David C. Stewart.
With parent company William Grant & Sons—which also makes Glenfiddich—only offering four bottles to global duty-free stores, from a worldwide allocation of 71, Shilla, part of South Korea’s Hotel Shilla Group, opted for an experiential pop-up to drive passenger interest and footfall. The travel retailer said that the display was “attracting significant attention” in Terminal 2 of Incheon Airport.
The pop-up, themed ‘A Journey of Greatness’ is presented as if visiting The Balvenie Distillery first-hand, and details Stewart’s impact on the craft of making whisky. It also uses soundscapes and an audio guide to explain the brand’s history and heritage.
Seoul Incheon—one of the biggest connecting hubs in Asia-Pacific—was once the biggest location in the world for duty-free sales, peaking at just over $2.4 billion in pre-pandemic 2019 thanks to high volumes of Chinese passengers. Now that they are returning, Shilla is ramping up its focus on them as well as outbound Korean travelers.
A pop-up for exclusive whiskies
An extremely rare single malt, The Balvenie Sixty, is the type of product that can stir retail interest. It derives from a single European Hogshead cask from 1962, the year that revered malt master David C. Stewart started at the distillery, located in Speyside in the Scottish Highlands. The Balvenie Sixty pays homage to Stewart’s 60 years dedicated to the brand up until 2022, making him the longest serving malt master in the industry’s history.
During this time he pioneered techniques that have had a major impact on production methods used today. He is also renowned for some novel work around ‘cask finishes’ for The Balvenie. In 2023, he stepped into the role of honorary ambassador handing over the title of malt master to his former apprentice of Kelsey McKechnie. The Balvenie Sixty bottle is the first to carry the signature of both Stewart and McKechnie.
Since July this year, the other location in duty-free where consumers could buy The Balvenie Sixty were Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, Taipei’s Taoyuan Airport in Taiwan, and Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates.
A spokesperson from Shilla Duty Free said that the company would “continue to introduce differentiated products and services” such as rarities like The Balvenie Sixty. Its pop-up will be present until January 18 next year. During that time a series of whisky products, mainly exclusive to global duty-free, will be displayed there.
According to the retailer, the pop-up experience is gaining popularity, especially the numbers at Incheon Airport increase. According to seat analyst OAG, recovery in the South Korean air market was now 22% off the 2019 high,
