Squeezing in some travel while the weather clings to late summer, or planning an autumn pick-me-up trip for when the leaves start to turn? Wherever you’re flying, here are five whiskies new to duty free (AKA global travel retail) at the moment.
Johnnie Walker Black Ruby
Johnnie Walker launched this new take on its well-loved Black Label in global travel retail earlier this year. Designed to highlight the sweeter side of Johnnie Walker Black Label, the blended whisky’s cask make-up includes ex-bourbon, first-fill red wine, and sherry casks.
The brand is currently hosting a speakeasy-inspired pop-up in Paris Charles de Gaulle airport, where travellers can taste the whisky and try two signature Black Ruby cocktails.
Master blender Dr Emma Walker said the whisky is “inspired by the sweetest and fruitiest notes of Johnnie Walker Black Label, with honeyed richness and magnetic allure”.
Johnnie Walker Black Ruby (40% ABV, RRP £35) is available worldwide, including in global travel retail.
Tomatin 13 Years Old
Released in April to global travel retail, this 13-year-old Tomatin was matured in a combination of bourbon and oloroso sherry casks, to create a single malt in Tomatin’s “flagship style”.
Tasting notes from the brand highlight aromas of baked apples and pears, spiced caramel sauce, and tropical fruits, with chocolatey granola, yoghurt-covered dried fruit, and cinnamon on the palate.
This 1-litre bottling joins the rest of Tomatin’s duty free range, which also includes 8-,16-, 21-, and 45-year-old single malts. The 13-year-old age statement will replace the 12-year-old that was previously in the distillery’s travel retail lineup.
Tomatin 13 Years Old (43% ABV, RRP £54.95) is available in major UK and international airports.
The Hearach Croft Strength
The latest edition of the Isle of Harris’ the Hearach single malt is a travel-retail exclusive. Named the Hearach Croft Strength, the whisky is a high-strength version of the distillery’s flagship bottling. It is named for the small farm 'crofts' on Harris, paying homage to the crofters of the island.
Made with 100 per cent Scottish barley, Croft Strength has been matured in ex-bourbon, oloroso, and fino sherry casks. The brand says the lightly peated spirit has a nose of soft smoke, caramel, fruits, and spices, with "characterful yet smooth" palate of spice, wood, and fruit.
Alongside the new whisky, Isle of Harris launched a Tidal Strength edition of its gin to travel retail — the first update to the original gin since its first release in 2015, and another higher-strength take on a flagship bottling.
Isle of Harris The Hearach Croft Strength (52% ABV, RRP £65) and Tidal Strength Gin (49.5% ABV, RRP £35) are available to purchase exclusively at Aberdeen, Edinburgh, and Glasgow airports, with additional locations to be announced.
Bushmills World Wood Series 18 Years Old Three Wood
Bushmills’ World Wood Series has been updated with a new whiskey, released exclusively to travel retail locations in the Asia-Pacific region.
The World Wood Series is a collection of small-batch Irish whiskeys, through which master blender Alex Thomas collaborates with “world-class” cooperages and winemakers to craft each expression.
The 18-year-old release has been matured in bourbon barrels and oloroso sherry butts for a minimum of 17 years, before a finish in Colheita port casks from Portugal’s Douro Valley.
Bushmills says each cask type brings its own flavour to the final product: vanilla and almond from bourbon casks; dried fruit and spices from the sherry butts; and fruit and a “silky crème brûlée sweetness” from the Colheita port casks.
Bushmills 18 Years Old Single Malt (46% ABV, RRP US$140) is available exclusively in global travel retail stores in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Macallan Inspired by Organic Cherrywood Lapsang Tea
Iconic Speyside distillery the Macallan announced the latest additions to its Harmony Collection earlier this summer. Both whiskies were the made in collaboration with, and inspired by, the tea brand Jing.
Due to be released exclusively to travel retail, Inspired by Organic Cherrywood Lapsang Tea draws on flavours found in the Jing tea of the same name, which is smoked over cherrywood. The whisky been primarily matured in sherry-seasoned European oak casks, as well as a selection of sherry-seasoned American oak casks.
The whisky’s presentation box was made using repurposed tea leaves, in line with the Harmony Collection's tradition of using organic materials at the end of their natural lives in its packaging.
Inspired by Organic Cherrywood Lapsang Tea (44.9% ABV) will launch in Global Travel Retail from 1 October 2025.
