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Top 10
Top 10 biggest-selling Scotch whiskies
What a year 2022 was for Scotch whisky, with records set for the category and highs especially felt by these top 10 best-selling brands.
Exports of Scotland’s native spirit hit £6.2 billion (US$7.5bn) last year, topping £6bn for the first time. Exports by volume also rose substantially, with the number of 700ml bottles shipped overseas up by 21% to 1.67bn, Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) figures showed.
Earlier this month, we released our Brand Champions 2023 report outlining the sales of the world’s biggest spirits brands. Based on our findings, we’re counting down the biggest-selling Scotch whiskies on the market now.
Scroll through to discover the top 10 best-selling Scotch whisky brands of 2022, listed in order of their nine-litre-case sales.
Data listed is to one decimal place for ease of reading, but the percentage changes are based on the full data supplied to The Brand Champions 2023 report.
10. White Horse
2022: 2.6m
2021: 2.6m
% change: -3%
Place last year: N/A
While a number of the category’s household names experienced stagnant or declining sales last year, this left space for White Horse to make its debut in the top 10 best-sellers list.
While the brand saw a minor sales dip of 3% in 2022, its 2.6m case sales has remained an impressive enough figure to let it into the top 10.
9. William Peel
2022: 2.7m
2021: 2.7m
% change: -1.2%
Place last year: 7
For the second consecutive year, William Peel witnessed a slight fall in sales in 2022, dropping by 1.2% to record 2.7m cases.
The brand’s owner, Paris-based Marie Brizard Wine & Spirits (MBWS), posted 7.8% revenue growth for 2022, with sales reaching €181.3m (US$193.7m) – an improvement on its previous year’s 1% dip.
8. J&B
2022: 2.9m
2021: 2.8m
% change: 3.2%
Place last year: 10
After suffering some substantial loses during the height of the pandemic in 2020, Justerini & Brooks, more commonly known as J&B, bounced back with half a million more case sales in 2021. The figures continued to rise for the Diageo-owned brand in 2022 as is maintained its spot on our best-selling list, creeping up two places thanks to its 3.2% sales boost.
The way its figures are going, we predict the brand will return to its 2019 sales figures of 3m cases next year if the trajectory continues.
7. William Lawson’s
2022: 3.5m
2021: 3.4m
% change: 1.5%
Place last year: 4
Found within the Bacardi portfolio, blended Scotch whisky William Lawson has seen a steady rise in sales over the last few years, and despite dropping a few places in this year’s list, posted a 1.5% sales increase in 2022.
6. Dewar’s
2022: 3.5m
2021: 2.9m
% change: 20.3%
Place last year: 9
William Lawson’s stablemate Dewar’s saw strong double-digit growth, with sales up by 20.3% to 3.5m cases in 2022.
Finally breaching the 3m-case-mark, Dewar’s boosted its portfolio in 2022 with the launch of its inaugural NFT (non-fungible token): Dewar’s Double Double 21 Years Old Rye Cask Finish. While only 50 bottles of the NFT were made available, the launch likely boosted the blended Scotch brand’s profile and help aid its impressive sales leap.
5. Black & White
2022: 3.6m
2021: 3.2m
% change: 14.5%
Place last year: 6
This Diageo-owned brand has climbed a spot in our top 10 list this year, with impressive double-digit gains taking it up to a total of 3.6m cases in 2022.
The blended Scotch is currently only sold outside of the UK, and claims to see most of its success in France, Venezuela and Brazil.
4. Grant’s
2022: 4.2m
2021: 4.1m
% change: 2.2%
Place last year: 3
Minor gains for Grant’s in 2022 has seen the brand drop one place in our top 10 list, but it still remains one of the biggest Scotch brands in the world.
The William Grant & Sons-owned brand suffered during the pandemic, but now appears to be back to full strength, leaping from 3.6m to 4.2m sales in two years.
3. Chivas Regal
2022: 5.2m
2021: 4.1m
% change: 26%
Place last year: 5
Pernod Ricard’s Chivas Regal grew by more than a quarter in 2022 to reach 5.2m cases.
The Scotch whisky arm of Pernod Ricard, Chivas Brothers, saw net sales soar by 25% during the company’s 2022 fiscal year, and the Chivas Regal brand saw global growth of 29% during FY22, as well as a boost of 42% in emerging markets.
Meanwhile, Pernod Ricard’s full-year results for fiscal 2022 revealed a significant increase in global demand for Scotch.
Last year, the brand entered the Metaverse with K-pop star Lisa, and added a Margeaux-cask finished expression to its line-up.
2. Ballantine’s
2022: 9.2m
2021: 8.7m
% change: 5.5%
Place last year: 2
Pernod Ricard’s second brand to make the top 10 list is Ballantine’s, which held onto its second-place position with growth of 5.5% in 2022.
Beating its 2020 volume by more than 2m cases, Ballantine’s kept up with trends in the industry last year, partnering with video game series Borderlands to launch a limited edition bottling. The move marked the brand’s first foray into the world of gaming.
1. Johnnie Walker
2022: 22.7m
2021: 19.1m
% change: 18.6%
Place last year: 1
Johnnie Walker played a key role in the category’s growth last year, enabling the Diageo-owned brand to retain its title of Scotch Whisky Brand Champion for another year.
The blended Scotch achieved the status last year after a return to growth in 2021 following the Covid-19 pandemic – a rebound that took it past its pre-pandemic sales.
In 2022, the brand soared by more than 3m cases to hit 22.7m, which may be credited to its numerous product launches, including its fifth Ghost and Rare expression, a Blue Label utopian collection, and a collaboration with Air Link, which saw six limited edition bottles for its Black Label series, made using an ink made from air pollution.