William Grant & Sons has launched a special edition Glenfiddich 18-year-old whisky themed around the upcoming Chinese New Year.

In a nod to encouraging family and loved ones to raise a glass of Scotch during the peak gifting period of Lunar New Year, the 18YO is clad in an imaginative gift pack designed by popular Shenzhen-based illustrator Rlon Wang.

The 2021 edition takes its cues from last year’s partnership, which reimagined the classic royal stag icon.

Stories inspiring the design link to Charles Gordon, who famously left Speyside with little more than a few cases of whisky and a vision to bring the ‘Valley of the Deer’ to the world before he returned a year on having captured the attention of whisky lovers across Asia.

KOLS AMPLIFY BRAND EXPOSURE

The spirit of Sir Edwin Landseer’s famous oil painting ‘The Monarch of the Glen’ is at the epicentre of the artwork, blending historical connections between Scotland and Asia and the importance adventure and reuniting at home with family and friends – symbolically apt at a time of year known for mass travel.

Meanwhile, Chinese New Year pop-ups will appear at Lagardère Duty Free in Sanya, Hainan and China Duty Free Mall until the end of February and March, respectively.

The experiential pop-ups allows visitors to taste the flagship 18-year old and 21-year old whiskies, enjoy gift-with- purchase opportunities and participate in a Chinese New Year draw to win exciting prizes.

Each of the pop-ups bring Wang’s illustrations to life while offering a contemporary take on the Chinese lantern: fostering the Spring Festival ceremony of gift giving.

To afford the brand added exposure, Glenfiddich is collaborating with some of China’s leading KOLs on WeChat and Weibo to present exclusive products and a sneak peak of the promotions and experiences that consumers can expect.

KOL content from Feekr, 阿Sam 的午夜場 Moli, 劉子恒 and 扎堆在三亚 is supplemented by a partnership with leading food and lifestyle review website Da Zhong Dian Ping 大众点评.

The Chinese website features more than 30 key opinion consumers producing content to heighten marketing exposure and drive traffic to the pop-up spaces.

Matthew Williams, Regional Director of GTR – Asia Pacific & Middle East for William Grant & Sons said: “Despite the challenging year we’ve had, we see green shoots emerging slowly but surely in the region, and being a family-owned company has afforded us the opportunity to invest ahead in the channel for the longer term. Our investments in the channel reflect the continued confidence our executive board has and our commitment to our partners.

“There are great opportunities for our portfolio throughout Asia Pacific and particularly in China for the Lunar New Year occasion and we look forward to continuing to deliver exceptional consumer experiences with our valuable partners such as CDF Group and Lagardère both in-store and online.”