THEDAILYWHISKY

There is now a permanent whisky shop at Sydney Airport built around a working conveyor belt. The new Sydney Airport Whisky Emporium borrows the baggage-carousel idea for its centrepiece: a mini revolving display set into the counter, with a central digital screen, that rotates the newest and most exclusive bottles into view as the year turns toward Christmas, Lunar New Year and other gifting peaks.

Pernod Ricard Global Travel Retail has partnered with Heinemann Oceania and Sydney Airport Corporation to open the Whisky Emporium in Terminal 1. It gathers five of the group’s Scotch brands, Chivas Regal, Royal Salute, The Glenlivet, Aberlour and Ballantine’s, into a single C-shaped shop-in-shop, with a Tasting Station at one end and a Gifting Zone at the other. It opened on 4 September 2026.

For anyone flying through T1, the reason to slow down is the travel-retail exclusives. Several of the bottles here simply are not sold in domestic shops, and a couple of them are among the more interesting things Chivas Brothers has put out for the channel in the last year.

What the Whisky Emporium actually is

The concept takes its cue from the whisky emporium the Chivas Brothers ran in Aberdeen in the 1930s, reimagined for a modern departures hall. Each brand gets its own zone for prestige expressions, traveller exclusives and a bit of storytelling, rather than the usual wall of boxes.

Two of the five names are single malts, The Glenlivet and Aberlour, both from Speyside. Chivas Regal and Ballantine’s are blended Scotch, and Royal Salute is the group’s aged, prestige blend. That spread matters if you are choosing a bottle to carry home: the malts are where the discovery is, the blends are where the reliable gifting sits.

The revolving counter display is the piece that makes this more than a smart fit-out. Instead of a static hero shelf, the belt lets staff push whatever is most relevant, a new release, a seasonal exclusive, a high-value decanter, into the spotlight without rebuilding the stand.

The travel-retail exclusives worth knowing

These are the Global Travel Retail (GTR) exclusive expressions the emporium calls out at its Tasting Station. Prices below are the published RRPs at launch and will vary by airport and currency.

The Glenlivet Cask Master’s Collection 14 Year Old American and European oak. Baked apple and citrus zest, soft and fruity. ABV: 40% | RRP: around £65 / US$85 (1 litre)

The Glenlivet Cask Master’s Collection 16 Year Old Fully matured in American oak. Creamy toffee and ripe plum. RRP: around US$120

The Glenlivet Cask Master’s Collection 19 Year Old American and European oak with a selective Scottish oak finish, a first for the brand. Stewed apple and blackcurrant spice. ABV: 48% | RRP: around £105 / US$140 (70cl)

Aberlour 13 Year Old American oak and Oloroso sherry. Sweet, fruity, classic softer-side Speyside. ABV: 40% | RRP:around £68 / US$86

Aberlour 16 Year Old Double Charred Selection Finished in extra-charred American oak for added depth and sweetness. ABV: 43% | RRP: around £121 / US$153

Aberlour Suthainn No age statement, non-chill filtered, built around a solera process in European sherry hogsheads for concentrated sherried richness and spice. ABV: 48% | RRP: around £85 / US$108

Chivas Regal 18 Year Old Pauillac Cask Edition The 18 Year Old blend given a finish in casks from Pauillac, the Bordeaux commune, adding a wine-cask layer to the house style.

If you only have time to look at one thing, make it the Cask Master’s 19 or the Suthainn. The Scottish oak finish on the 19 is genuinely uncommon, and Suthainn is a lot of sherried Aberlour for the money.

The Tasting Station and the Gifting Zone

At one end of the C, the Tasting Station lets travellers work through the portfolio at their own pace, exclusives included, which is the right way to spend an idle 40 minutes before a long-haul.

At the other end, the Gifting Zone is designed to shift with the calendar, leaning into Christmas, Lunar New Year and other occasions. To mark the opening, every purchase from the emporium comes with a gift-wrapping kit, a small touch that makes more sense at an airport than almost anywhere else.

Why this launch matters

Sydney trialled a temporary version of this idea back in 2019. Making it permanent, and building the whole thing around a rotating exclusives display, is a bet that travellers increasingly treat duty-free whisky as considered discovery and gifting rather than a grab on the way to the gate.

Becky Holliday, Pernod Ricard Pacific Travel Retail Director, framed it as a way to show the group’s malt ambition alongside its blends. Ranjith Menon of Heinemann Asia Pacific called prestige spirits a key growth category for international shoppers, and Gail Taylor, General Manager Retail at Sydney Airport, pitched it as another reason to enjoy the walk through T1. The emporium was officially opened with a ribbon cutting by Rosi Fernandez of Heinemann Oceania, Holliday and Taylor.

Is it worth stopping for?

If you are flying through Sydney T1 and you drink single malt, yes. The Glenlivet Cask Master’s Collection and the Aberlour trio, Suthainn in particular, are the draw, because you cannot pick them up on the high street. If you are after a gift rather than a bottle for yourself, the Royal Salute and Chivas zones plus the launch gift-wrapping make the case on their own.

Check the exclusives against your home duty-free before you commit, prices in travel retail move by airport and currency, but as a place to actually explore Scotch rather than just buy it, this is a strong addition to T1.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Sydney Airport Whisky Emporium? It is a permanent Scotch whisky shop-in-shop in Sydney Airport Terminal 1, opened in September 2026 by Pernod Ricard Global Travel Retail with Heinemann Oceania and Sydney Airport Corporation. The C-shaped space groups five Scotch brands with a Tasting Station, a Gifting Zone and a rotating exclusives display.

Which whisky brands are in the Sydney Airport Whisky Emporium? Five Pernod Ricard Scotch brands: Chivas Regal, Royal Salute, The Glenlivet, Aberlour and Ballantine’s. The Glenlivet and Aberlour are Speyside single malts. Chivas Regal and Ballantine’s are blended Scotch, and Royal Salute is the group’s aged prestige blend.

What travel-retail exclusives can you buy there? The Tasting Station highlights The Glenlivet Cask Master’s Collection 14, 16 and 19 Year Old, Aberlour Suthainn, Aberlour 13 Year Old and 16 Year Old Double Charred Selection, and Chivas Regal 18 Year Old Pauillac Cask Edition. These are Global Travel Retail exclusives not sold in standard domestic shops.

When did the Sydney Airport Whisky Emporium open? The emporium went live on 4 September 2026 and was marked with a grand opening and ribbon cutting. It is a permanent fixture in Terminal 1, following a temporary version of the concept trialled at Sydney Airport in 2019.

What is the conveyor belt in the Whisky Emporium? A mini revolving display built into the counter, with a central digital screen. Rather than a fixed hero shelf, it rotates the newest or most exclusive bottles into view and can be tuned to seasonal moments such as Christmas or Lunar New Year.