Korea travel retailer Lotte Duty Free has today launched an online liquor ‘exhibition’ featuring popular brands, with a dedicated whiskey showcase and discounts of up to 55% for shoppers during spring.

There’s a variety of products to suit all budgets and shoppers can receive recommendations filtered by price range.

Big names in the new whisky exhibition include Jack Daniel’s and Maker’s Mark, which Lotte says are great for affordable gifting.

There’s a number of entry-level whiskies to pick from, such as Chivas Regal 18 Year Old and Balvenie Classic.

For seasoned whisky fans, there’s a strong line up of single malts such as Glenfiddich 18 Year Old and Dalmore Cigar Malt, as well as Kavalan Vino Barric Soloist and Royal Salute 21 Year Old.

More sought after expressions include Ballantine’s 30 Year Old and Johnnie Walker King George V.

As part of the campaign, the company plans to offer gifts of up to $55 in category-specific alcoholic beverages alongside each purchase.

“With the online sales of alcoholic beverages at duty free stores and the expansion of the duty free limit for alcoholic beverages, the sale of alcoholic beverages by Koreans is becoming more active and convenient,” said Lee Seung-guk, Head Of The Merchandise Division at Lotte Duty Free.

“Lotte Duty Free will respond quickly to the rapidly changing liquor trends and continue to strengthen its lineup of alcoholic beverages favoured by domestic and foreign customers.”

Growing demand for sake

In March, the popular Japanese sake brand Dassai is also set to launch exclusively in Korea duty free through the online portal.

Described as a ‘must-buy’ for those travelling to Japan, Dassai is a well-known band in Japan and Korea, as well as around the world.

It can typically be found in Japan for lower price than on the domestic market in Korea, so is often considered a ‘must-buy item’ when traveling to Japan.

When launched in Lotte’s online liquor hall, it will be available at a price ‘comparable’ to the local price in Japan, and is expected to be in high demand as a result.

Lotte says that sake is emerging as a popular new alcoholic beverage, quoting Korea Customs Service’s import and export trade statistics that show imports have increased by 12.6% compared to last year.

There’s plans to install additional cold storage facilities for sake in its Lotte’s integrated logistics centre for quality control.

Lotte’s online spirits store first launched on 1 July last year and has since grown to feature 1,200 products – the largest online retail portfolio in Korea’s domestic duty free industry (as of February 2024), according to the retailer.

Korean shoppers provide 80% of Lotte Duty Free’s online liquor sales.

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