Drink Sampling in Duty-Free Stores Across North American Airports

Drink sampling is often a hidden gem inside of airports, tucked away inside the duty free shops. But, duty free wants you to enter and explore new drinks right? With a small space inside shops, and many brand shelves back to back, it can be difficult to choose the right drink you want to take home. Duty free stores are onto something when they provide free drink samplings because they know time at the airport is slow, boredom has risen, and alcohol is low in the system. 

Which Brands are Featured Inside Airports?

Well, many North American airports including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Miami, Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver, among others, like to provide drink samplings to travellers. These are not always a monthly guarantee, but it does not hurt to check out the duty free stores just in case. So what brands are providing samples? And why bother tasting a sample?

Don Julio, Johnnie Walker, Roku Gin, Chivas Regal, Sheringham Distillery, Tito’s Vodka, all have a history of airport brand activations. These activations offer travelers the unique opportunity to engage with these brands through sampling experiences before making a purchase. If you like taking photos, a lot of these brands are invested in creating a memorable experience through a highly aesthetic decor. As it is unlikely for two brands to be sampling at the same time, it is good to know what you want ahead of time. Are you looking for a sophisticated choice, a local choice or a sweet choice? At the duty free shops, you can learn about the differences of individual bottles and flavours from the same brand.

Recently, Don Julio hosted a two-month pop-up in June at the Las Vegas airport, offering samples of Blanco, Reposado, and Añejo. The activation featured summer design details, with each sample accompanied by a cocktail recipe sheet highlighting Don Julio pairings. If you don’t know which mixer is right for you, the recipe would have been a great guide. This pop-up provided a vibrant sampling table for everyone to enjoy. Unlike purchases at the liquor store, the brand representatives at the duty free shop will be experts in product knowledge. Without planning on buying anything, you can definitely soak up some knowledge on different drinks. Tito’s Vodka appeared in June at Vancouver and Toronto’s international airports. Glenlivet also had a pop-up at Montreal Trudeau Airport, May 2024. Often times, these acitvations run for one month, so there is a good chance you will see one. Unless you stumble upon these activations, it can be tricky to know where to find these samplings ahead of time.

Stay Updated

For details on store locations, visit the airport’s duty-free website to find the terminal and closest gate. Ongoing activations where you can find drink samplings ahead of time are posted on Instagram @propellekonnect.