“Journey before the journey”: DFS launches The Whisky Festival with pop-up speakeasy bar in Changi first

SINGAPORE. DFS Group has launched the fourth edition of The Whisky Festival at Singapore Changi Airport, where it unveiled its first-ever pop-up bar at the Terminal 3 Departure Transit Hall.

Taking on a deconstructed whisky cask theme, the Festival “aims to demystify the whisky-making process”, drawing inspiration from cask maturation and its impact on colour, aroma and taste.

Whisky on the rocks: The Whisky Festival was fittingly unveiled with a whisky-pouring ceremony, officiated by (from left to right) DFS Changi Assistant General Manager Sales (Arrivals & Cruise Centres) Kathy Chan; DFS Group General Manager Singapore Prashant Mahboobani; Changi Airport Group Senior Vice President Airside Concessions Teo Chew Hoon; DFS Group Managing Director Singapore and Indonesia Wilcy Wong; Changi Airport Group Executive Vice President of Airport Management Tan Lye Teck; and DFS Group Director Merchandising Spirits, Wine and Champagne Frederik Vanden Bulcke.

DFS said that its global selection at Changi of more than 400 whiskies, including first and exclusive launches, offers travellers the chance to “explore the world before their journey begins”.

Following its launch at Changi, The Whisky Festival will roll out in seven DFS locations across Asia, the Middle East, North America and Hawaii, with promotions and activities taking place over two months.

To celebrate the launch, DFS held a grand opening ceremony on 3 May at the new pop-up bar, attended by representatives of DFS, Changi Airport Group, brand partners and media, including The Moodie Davitt Report*.

DFS Group General Manager Singapore Prashant Mahboobani: “This year, we embark on a new milestone with The Whisky Festival going global for the first time. We are honoured to kick start this festival here in Singapore with unique, exclusive experiences at Changi Airport.”
DFS Group Director Merchandising Spirits, Wine and Champagne Frederik Vanden Bulcke: “The theme of The Whisky Festival this year is ‘The journey before the journey’ – and what we really intend to do here is deliver a unique and memorable experience by immersing customers and travellers in the art of whisky making.”

Featuring design elements from deconstructed whisky casks, the pop-up bar will run until 10 June at the T3 departure concourse near Gucci and Burberry. It offers interactive experiences such as whisky tastings, whisky-scented vaporisers and live jazz performances, reminiscent of the speakeasy bars of the 1920s Jazz Age.

To help guide customers through the selection process, the whiskies at the pop-up are grouped into four categories – Classics, Discoveries, Specialties and Rare Finds – and four flavour profiles – Floral and Delicate, Fruity and Elegant, Smokey and Intense, and Rich and Rounded.

Product highlights include Bruichladdich Port Charlotte 10; Compass Box No Name, No.2; Glenmorangie Rare Cask 1399; Johnnie Walker Black Triple Cask Edition; and Royal Salute 21yo Lost Blend.

The Whisky Festival features the first-ever pop-up bar at Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 3, with design elements from deconstructed whisky casks.
Live jazz performances will take place daily at the Terminal 3 pop-up, underlining the 1920s speakeasy bar concept.
Inside the cask: The Whisky Festival highlights a number of hero products from Bruichladdich, Compass Box, Glenmorangie, Johnnie Walker and The Royal Salute.

DFS Group Senior Vice President Spirits, Wines, Tobacco, Food and Gifts Brooke Supernaw commented: “The Whisky Festival is one of our favourite celebrations at DFS, providing a great opportunity to showcase this wonderful spirit in a fun and engaging way to whisky connoisseurs and enthusiasts alike. We are delighted to work with some of the best whisky makers in the world to bring this Festival to life again this year in partnership with Changi Airport Group.”

Changi Airport Group Senior Vice President, Airside Concessions Teo Chew Hoon said: “We are thrilled to partner with DFS Changi once again and bring the annual Whisky Festival to the next level with a pop-up bar for the first time ever. This 1920s-themed bar with its unique interior and collection of never-before-seen whiskies will offer travellers a multi-sensorial travel retail experience, in celebration of all things whisky.”

Guests were taken on a whisky discovery tour where they got to learn more about the products (above) and engage their senses through the whisky vaporisers (below).

From 1 May to 30 June, the Festival will feature whisky tastings and weekly masterclasses from brand ambassadors at DFS’s instore bars at Changi Airport – The Tasting Bar (Terminal 2 Duplex), The Raffles Long Bar (Terminal 3 Duplex) and The Whiskey House (Terminal 4 Departure Central).

The Festival at Changi is also offering a host of promotions both instore and online. From 1 May to 30 June, customers who spend S$250 (US$184) on any whisky at departures will receive a branded Glencairn whisky glass. From 8 May to 30 June, arrival customers who spend S$140/US$103 (per passport) including any whisky will receive a pair of ferry tickets to and city tour of Batam (worth S$70/US$51).

On iShopChangi.com, DFS is offering four lucky customers the chance to win air tickets to Taiwan, US and Scotland, complemented by distillery tours. To participate, customers have to spend a minimum of S$140 (including a whisky) at iShopChangi.com during the four-week promotion period. Purchases can be made from 12 hours up to 30 days before the flight.

The destinations and respective qualifying periods are as follows:

  • Week 1: 1 May to 16 May – Taiwan
  • Week 2: 17 May to 31 May – Scotland
  • Week 3: 1 June to 16 June – US
  • Week 4: 1 May to 30 June – Scotland (Grand Prize)

The Whisky Festival will take place at the DFS locations below: 

  • 1 May – 30 June: Singapore Changi Airport, Hanoi Noi Bai International Airport, Ho Chi Minh Tan Son Nhat Airport, John F Kennedy International Airport, and Tom Bradley International Terminal
  • 1 June – 31 July: Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (Hawaii) and San Francisco International Airport
  • 1 July – 31 August: Abu Dhabi International Airport

Product highlights from The Whisky Festival

Bruichladdich Port Charlotte 10 (RSP: S$131.50) – Conceived, distilled, matured and bottled on Islay alone, with an ambition to make “the ultimate Islay whisky”. (Photo: Melody Ng)
Compass Box No Name, No. 2 (RSP: S$195) – A Changi First launch available until June, this is a blended malt combining Caol Ila and Talisker single malt whiskies and “a dash of proprietary Highland malt blend”, finished in new French oak. (Photo: Melody Ng)
Glenmorangie Rare Cask 1399 (RSP: S$743) – A Changi First launch available until June, this was laid down for ten years in American white oak bourbon casks, creating the whisky’s signature notes of orange, peach and vanilla. An additional four years in a single oloroso sherry cask result in deeper notes of cocoa, treacle toffee and spice. (Photo: Melody Ng)
Johnnie Walker Black Triple Cask Edition (RSP: S$55.20) – A travel retail exclusive crafted from a selection of single malts, with three Speyside malts at its heart. The blend is then matured in three types of oak casks. (Photo: Melody Ng)
Royal Salute 21yo Lost Blend (RSP: S$228) – A world-first launch available from May, this was crafted by combining scarce whiskies from lost distilleries with a selection of malt and grain Scotch whiskies. (Photo: Melody Ng)

Engage, educate and excite: Making whisky accessible to all

Since its inception in 2016, The Whisky Festival at Changi Airport has showcased some of the world’s finest whiskies, including rare, limited-edition bottles exclusive to DFS. In the run-up to the launch of the Festival’s biggest edition this year, DFS Singapore was named ‘Travel Retailer of the Year’ in Whisky Magazine’s Icons of Whisky Awards 2019.

The Festival has also provided a platform to educate travellers about whisky through masterclasses with expert brand ambassadors, opening up the category to whisky consumers of all levels. The introduction of the pop-up bar further adds to the Festival’s experience and lifestyle concept, making whisky more accessible, said DFS.

This year’s brand ambassadors come from different drinks companies such as Diageo, Moët Hennessy and Pernod Ricard, but what they share in common is their passion to engage, educate and excite consumers about the whisky category as a whole.

The Whisky Festival shone the spotlight on the brand ambassadors through an informal Q&A on whisky consumption and their personal preferences and pet peeves. From left to right: Emcee Rosalyn Lee, Diageo Brand Ambassador Jeremy Lee, Pernod Ricard Brand Ambassador Matthew Parry and Moët Hennessy Training Manager Ryan Gan.

Pernod Ricard Brand Ambassador Matthew Parry hopes to dispel some common myths about whisky, that it is an older man’s drink or has to be enjoyed a certain way.

“For a long time, whisky has been considered a very exclusive kind of thing for a particular type of person, and the idea of bringing [a brand ambassador] like me [to The Whisky Festival] is to show that whisky is a lot more inclusive than it has been in the past. It is accessible for everyone,” he told The Moodie Davitt Report.

Pernod Ricard Brand Ambassador Matthew Parry wants to address certain misconceptions about whisky.

“It is nice to go on a journey with the consumer, finding out why they like or don’t like a certain whisky and addressing these misconceptions. Not telling people that they are wrong but to try and open up whisky a little bit more to those who might not necessarily try it very often.”

Moët Hennessy Training Manager Ryan Gan wants to encourage consumers to discover their favourite drink on their own instead of following the trend of drinking certain types of whisky, such as single malts and older whiskies.

“Open up your mind, try out different kinds of whiskies and explore your personal preference instead of listening to what others like. What is most important is that you find something you truly enjoy,” he said.

Gan believes that the blended whisky category has been neglected, even though many consumers – as Parry noted – do not realise that single malts are still a blend of whiskies from a single distillery. Such misconceptions underline the need for whisky education.

While consumer preferences for single malts and age statements continue to hold strong, both Gan and Parry are seeing a shift in focus on taste and craftsmanship.

Gan said: “Over the years, consumers have improved their understanding of the product and their knowledge of whisky. In the past, they were always looking for age statements – the older, the better. The truth is, age does not always equate to quality. We have seen this trend changing over the years and if you look in the stores today, you will realise that many of the brands are producing whiskies with no age statements. This is something we are happy to see because consumers no longer just focus on age – they now understand how the different casks actually affect the taste and quality of the whisky.”

Moët Hennessy Training Manager Ryan Gan notes the rise in smaller, niche whisky brands.

Parry added: “There is a lot more innovation in casks now and you see a lot more of people looking at actual flavours and taste profiles. So instead of just saying we want to release a 12yo blend, now we are asking questions such as: what flavour do we want to create, how can we use the casks to make that flavour, and with blends, how can we use different malts from different distilleries to get that flavour?”

While Scotch has been “the gold standard” for whisky, Parry notes the emergence of world whiskies and believes they will continue to grow and add diversity to the whisky market. “Again, it’s going back to the whole idea of people becoming more open and receptive to the flavour element of whiskies,” he explained.

Smaller, niche brands will become more prominent, Gan believes. “As consumers gain more experience, their knowledge grows and they are open to trying different things. My guess is they would probably move on to smaller brands to see how they are unique and distinct from the big brands – moving forward I think this will be the trend.”

Parry said: “Looking at gin and beer, it’s all about craft now and people supporting the smaller and more niche products.”

Another change Gan has observed in whisky is the marked increase in travel retail exclusives. “In the past, if you were to look at domestic and travel retail, they launch almost the same ranges but in the last, I would say five years, most of the operators have launched a lot of travel retail exclusives and it benefits both the consumers and [us as brand owners] – it’s a win-win situation.”

DFS’s efforts in driving awareness of travel retail as a channel is paying off. Parry said: “A question I’m asked a lot by consumers: is this product in duty free? Have you seen this in duty free? It didn’t seem as prominent in the UK [where Parry is from –Ed] whereas duty free seems to be the standard for a lot of people in Singapore. It’s amazing to see how important duty free and DFS are, and I think something like [The Whisky Festival] deserves to start in Singapore.”

*Footnote: The Moodie Davitt Report was on location at the grand opening of The Whisky Festival 2019 – check out our Instagram post here and our Story Highlight ‘DFS Whisky Fest’ here.

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