Travel Retail Highlights VII
A showcase for spirits at Heathrow
London Heathrow Airport, in partnership with Avolta, this month relaunched its annual whisky festival under the name Whisky Social Club.
The festival runs through May across all Heathrow terminals. It features whisky and food pairings curated by whisky expert and content creator Alwynne Gwilt, known as Miss Whisky. Travellers can also try whisky-themed dishes and discover products exclusive to the airport.
Interactive events and pop-ups include:
- Free whisky tastings and expert-led masterclasses led by brand ambassadors from Glen Moray, Bowmore, Tomintoul, Glen Scotia, Fable, Glenfiddich and Pernod Ricard
- Miss Whisky’s Signature Food Pairings – chocolate or cheese pairings with whiskies curated by Miss Whisky
- Live engraving stations – passengers can personalise a bottle of whisky
- Innovative tasting tech – Using the Lift & Learn station travellers can watch tasting notes and brand stories appear on screen.
During Whisky Social Club, travellers have exclusive access to travel retail-only releases available at Heathrow including Fable’s The Lighthouse, McArthur, Gulls and London Edition whiskies.
Participating Heathrow restaurants are presenting whisky-inspired dishes and cocktails across the terminals. Among them are Big Smoke Taphouse & Kitchen and Shan Shui in Terminal 2, Caviar House & Prunier, The Curator and Spuntino in T3, and Pilots Bar & Kitchen and Gordon Ramsay Plane Food in T5.
The campaign blends drinks and dining plus physical and digital touch points
A feast for the senses: Inventive whisky food pairings and cocktails appear at Big Smoke Taphouse & Kitchen, Gordon Ramsay Plane Food, Pilots Bar & Kitchen and Caviar House & Prunier among other Heathrow dining locations
Comment: Bravo to Heathrow Airport and its commercial partners across duty free and food & beverage for this colourful cross-channel campaign. It brings many great whiskies from all parts of the UK and elsewhere to prominence in front of the airport’s vast audience. Plus it connects the dots between shopping and dining in an imaginative way, elevating an annual promotion into a memorable event that blends education and entertainment.
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The Moodie Davitt eZine
Issue 344 | 7 May 2025
The Moodie Davitt eZine is published 6 times per year by The Moodie Davitt Report (MA Travel Retail). © All material is copyright and cannot be reproduced without the permission of the Publisher. To find out more visit www.moodiedavittreport.com and to subscribe, please e-mail kristyn@moodiedavittreport.com