Single malt whisky The Glenlivet is expanding its Nàdurra brand into a range featuring different cask experiences – and the first of those incarnations, The Glenlivet Nàdurra Oloroso, will debut next month with Heinemann at Frankfurt Airport. London Heathrow will follow as part of World Duty Free’s annual Whisky Festival.

 

“Striking spaces” will be created at both airports to entice whisky enthusiasts to interact with the new single malt’s tasting notes and explore its heritage. In Frankfurt B-East and Heathrow T5 travellers will also be invited to enjoy the new expression while playing a game of pool thanks to miniature pool tables installed in the dedicated brand space.

 

Chivas Brothers – the Scotch whisky and premium gin business of Pernod Ricard – held a media launch for the new Nàdurra Oloroso earlier this evening.

 

Speaking at bespoke handmade-to-measure shoemaker John Lobb – to underline the craft involved in the making of the whisky – Nikki Burgess (left), Global Brand Director for The Glenlivet said: “By expanding the Nàdurra range we aim to consolidate our strong offering in the craft single malt arena.”

 

SMALL BATCH PRODUCTION

Each expression in The Glenlivet Nàdurra range is made in small batches and is matured exclusively in a different cask-type. And unlike many modern whiskies, the range is bottled without chill-filtration, which is claimed to offer additional complexity, body, and texture. “It’s the cloest you can get to drinking from the cask,” said Burgess.

 

Chivas Brothers is looking to build on its strong development in the growing single malt whisky market where volume sales rose by +5% between 2011 and 2012 (source: IWSR).

 

Jenny Shipton, Marketing Director at Pernod Ricard Travel Retail Europe told the audience that the European market remained an exciting one for The Glenlivet. From 2008 to 2012, western Europe CAGR growth rates for the brand were +6% while those in Eastern Europe for the same period were more than six times higher at +38%.

 

She cited passenger traffic growth of +5.6% in December 2013 year-on-year as “a big opportunity” as that translated to 78m more passengers going through airports.

 

A FIRST – WITH MORE TO COME

Nàdurra Oloroso is the first permanent expression in the new range, and is also the first major Glenlivet bottling in living memory to be matured solely in ex-sherry casks.

 

The first-fill, ex-Oloroso sherry casks from Jerez in Spain impart distinctive dried fruits aromas, warm spices, and notes of cinnamon and liquorice. The spirit combined with the cask influence, produces a sweetness of dark chocolate and a finish which is long and sweet with a slightly dry, spicy effect from the European oak maturation according to Alan Winchester (right), Master Distiller of The Glenlivet.

 

“As we continue to release additional twists on the original The Glenlivet Nàdurra, we look forward to showcasing different cask experiences to an increasing number of discerning drinkers,” added Burgess.