The third finalist, Delhi Duty Free, gave consumers the opportunity to mingle with whisky experts and endeavoured to make them feel like whisky connoisseurs.

PARTNERSHIP INITIATIVE OF THE YEAR – RETAILER & SUPPLIER

This award was one of the most hotly contested in the competition. Dubai airport fine wine and spirit retailer Le Clos outlined its close partnership with The Macallan, detailing its opening of a branded shop-in-shop at its new outlet in Terminal 3, as well as being the exclusive launchpad for the new Macallan Golden Age of Travel range. The retailer even stages downtown events in Dubai to promote The Macallan.

Family-owned Teeling Whiskey Company and Irish airport retailer Aer Rianta International are our second shortlisted partnership. The Dublin-based company has provided five exclusive whiskeys to the operator’s Dublin airport The Irish Whiskey Collection outlet, and collaborated with whiskey-loving airport shop staff to create The Aviators Single Cask, which sold out in six weeks.

DRINKS LAUNCH AT TFWA CANNES

Our two finalists in this sector were Stoli Gluten Free, a new buckwheat and corn-based vodka, targeted at the one in five adult consumers trying to incorporate gluten-free products in their diet, and Voga Vodka, an intriguingly packaged Italian vodka made from Italian wheat filtered through Nebbiolo grape must.

DRINKS LAUNCH OF THE YEAR

This always competitive category saw two finalists stand out from the crowd: the luxuriously packaged Glencadam 25 Year Old Highland single malt whisky, limited to 650 bottles, and the Chapoutier Ermitage Mathusalem 2010 Collection, which comprised six mathusalems of the 2010 vintage, launched exclusively with Le Clos at Dubai airport.

As part of the latter launch Michael Chapoutier himself hosted a special masterclass for 50 VIP Le Clos customers in Dubai interested in participating in a silent auction for the wines.

TRAVEL RETAIL EXCLUSIVE OF THE YEAR

Of all the supplier awards this one was the most fiercely contested with entries hailing for multiple sub-sectors.

Shortlisted entries included the Chapoutier Ermitage Mathusalem 2010 Collection, Johnnie Walker Green Label, a smoky blended malt addition to the Johnnie Walker family, which received excellent coverage in the trade press and on social media platforms, and the smoky Macallan Rare Cask.

Within nine month of its release, this unusual Macallan expression became the best-selling single malt in duty free priced above $300.

Tomintoul Five Decades is the last of our shortlisted contenders – an ambitious collection of five rare whiskies spanning five decades, from 1965 to 2005, each one representing unique flavour profiles from that decade.

NEW/REPACKAGING OF A DRINKS BRAND

Standout entries for this award included the new, more premium Amarula Jabulani bottle, which

highlights the brand’s long-standing links to the endangered elephants that eat the marula fruit the liqueur is made from, as well as Ballantine’s Signature Oak Edition, whose bottle label and outer packaging feature clever hot-foil and embossing techniques to create an authentic oak barrel effect.

The last finalist is the stunning Johnnie Walker House Blue Label Casks Edition – Schiphol Limited Edition, which is exclusively sold at the new Johnnie Walker House at Schiphol airport.