Latest story fresh off the press

Dublin Airport Passengers Offered Tours of Walsh Whiskey Distillery –Virtually!

The Loop at Dublin Airport – 11 July 2017: This summer passengers travelling through The Loop, Dublin Airport can avail of a free tour of one of Ireland’s newest whiskey distilleries without even leaving the terminal.  Walsh Whiskey Distillery, one of the leaders of the Irish whiskey renaissance, has created a virtual reality (VR) tour of its picturesque distillery in Royal Oak, County Carlow complete with a complimentary ‘actual’ tasting of one of their premium whiskeys – The Irishman or Writers’ Tears.

Walsh Whiskey Distillery was commissioned in 2016 and has the capacity to produce 8.5 million bottles of whiskey annually – which makes it one of the largest distilleries in Ireland. The distillery is hand-operated, which gives the distillers total control over the distillation process and is very rare for a big distillery.

Over the course of a three minute VR tour, Terminal 2 passengers can enjoy a virtual visit to the 18th century Royal Oak estate, experience the ancient craft of distilling and see how all three styles of Irish whiskey – pot still, malt and grain – are distilled in the one still house.

The VR tour brings visitors into the heart of Walsh Whiskey Distillery, to experience the sights and sounds of the distillation process, from milling to the mash room and the still house itself. Meet some of the distillery team along the way and finish the tour with an actual tasting, of an award-winning whiskey of their choice – The Irishman or Writers’ Tears.

Walsh Whiskey Distillery partnered with specialist virtual reality producers, The VR Agency, and ARI who operate The Loop at Dublin Airport to develop the tour exclusively for passengers at Dublin Airport’s Terminal 2. The VR Agency production team filmed every element of the visitor experience, across two whole days, to give passengers a real sense of setting foot in Royal Oak. Today’s launch marks another global first for ARI who is committed to leading the way in innovation in the travel retail industry.

Launching the VR distillery tour at The Loop, Dublin Airport, Bernard Walsh, Founder and Managing Director of Walsh Whiskey Distillery said: “We are delighted to bring the first ever virtual reality distillery experience to passengers in The Loop, Dublin Airport. It is both fun and informative and we hope passengers enjoy what is a unique way of experiencing our distillery and whiskeys, as well as being an introduction to the artful science of Irish whiskey distillation!”

Paul Hunnisett, ARI Global Head of Liquor, Tobacco and Confectionery said: “ARI is delighted to partner with Walsh Whiskey Distillery on this innovative 21st century travel retail experience. I’ve always been fascinated by the whiskey distillation process and have visited lots of distilleries in Ireland and Scotland, but I was blown away by the level of detail and interaction in this virtual distillery tour. It’s great fun and really takes the customer experience to a whole new level. Irish whiskey is renowned as a dynamic category and this commitment to innovation will help secure its growth and customer appeal long into the future.”

Walsh Whiskey Distillery is hosting the tour as part of its pop-up shop in Dublin Airport’s Terminal 2 during the months of July and August.  The shop is open from 7am to 7m daily. Knowledgeable whiskey ambassadors are on hand to talk passengers through The Irishman and Writers’ Tears portfolios and facilitate the virtual reality distillery tour.

To make the airport shopping experience as seamless as possible The Loop offers its free Click and Collect and Shop and Collect services. Shop and Collect also allows customers to purchase items at Dublin Airport with the added benefit of storing these purchases on site until the customer returns to Ireland. A text is also sent to each passenger using this service to remind them to pick up their goods when they arrive back to Dublin Airport.

The Loop’s Click and Collect service allows you to browse and purchase up to 12 hours in advance of your flight via www.theloop.ie. Your purchases can then be picked up on departure or when you arrive back to the airport. Connect with The Loop on Facebook www.facebook.com/TheLoopShopping and on Twitter @TheLoopDutyFree

-ENDS-

About ARI:

ARI is one of the largest and most significant players in the global travel retail industry. We own and manage duty free and duty paid retail outlets in Europe, The Middle East, Asia Pacific and the Americas. From pioneering beginnings when we opened the world’s first duty free shop in Shannon Airport in 1947, we now employ over 3,000 people worldwide and manage a turnover in excess of $1 billion. For more information please visit www.ari.ie

About The VR Agency:

The Virtual Reality Agency is a full-service virtual and augmented reality content studio. Our experienced team use custom-built hardware and software to create any experience you can imagine! Contact us today at www.wearevra.com