Customer pays €488,000 for bottle of whisky at Istanbul Airport

A rare bottle of whisky on offer at a duty free store in Istanbul Airport has been sold for an incredible €488,000.

Described as an extremely limited Yamazaki 55 year old whisky, it had been on sale at one of Unifree Duty Free’s outlets at the airport since December 2021.

Due to the exceptionally limited nature of this release, customers were invited to place a bid to have a chance to purchase the precious liquor. A total of eight interested customers made a valid offer. Ultimately, a customer from China purchased the bottle.

Ali Şenher, CEO of Unifree Duty Free, says: “We are thrilled that this record-breaking sale has taken place at our store.

“It provides further evidence that special products can help to achieve amazing results for airport retail and that Istanbul Airport is the perfect site to offer rarities like the Yamazaki 55 Year Old to a particularly discerning international clientele.”

The oldest single malt whisky in the history of the House of Suntory is a blend of three exceptional single malts from the 1960s, featuring components distilled under the supervision of Suntory’s founder Shinjiro Torii.

After releasing 100 bottles in 2020 in Japan through a lottery system, Suntory has expanded on the release in 2021 by offering a very limited batch of another 100 bottles to the rest of the world, with a number allocated to key Travel Retail partners, including Gebr Heinemann, Unifree’s joint venture partner at the Turkish gateway.

“We always strive to offer our travelling shoppers superior experiences and premium products,” enthuses Gebr Heinemann’s director for purchasing liquor, tobacco and confectioney, Ruediger Stelkens.

“Whisky enthusiasts know they can rely on Heinemann and our joint venture partners as a flagship destination for the discovery of rarities like the Yamazaki 55 Year Old. Our effort going forward will be to continue to focus on premium and exclusive products in all categories and locations.”