Travel retail highlights

Brown-Forman Global Travel Retail likes to make a big statement each year at TFWA World Exhibition, and it made one of its biggest yet in Cannes last week. There, the company revealed a limited-edition expression of its super-premium Woodford Reserve American whiskey, with bottling by French luxury crystal specialist Baccarat.

It’s the first American whiskey to be housed in a Baccarat bottle, and underlines the reputational progress, especially at the super-premium end, that American whiskey has made in recent years. [Note: The brand has got plenty of consumer traction too, judging by the impressive 5,709 page views generated by The Moodie Davitt Report.com's 1 October story on the new release, many of those views driven by Facebook].

As Woodford Reserve Global Brand Director Mark Bacon noted at the launch event, it’s a product that “elevates the category of American whiskey in the global market”.

Like any great new product, it tells a story too. At the launch event, Master Distiller Chris Morris outlined the powerful connections between France and the state of Kentucky that date back over 200 years, and that neatly bring “this grand alliance” full circle.

The Woodford Reserve Baccarat Edition will be available exclusively in duty free stores for one year from May 2019, with a suggested RRP of US$1,500.

Expect it to be a popular collectors’ purchase. As Brown-Forman Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Global Travel Retail Marshall Farrer told us at the launch event, it’s already in high demand and on full allocation.