Top 10 biggest-selling Scotch Brand Champions
Growth in Scotch seems to be a balancing act between new and established drinkers as the performance of the category’s top sellers showed.
Last year was a “challenging year” for the Scotch whisky industry admitted Mark Kent, chief executive of the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) after the release of the trade body’s report on the biggest export markets by volume for the category in 2024.
As traditional Scotch buying regions of North America and the European Union (EU) contend with challenging trade conditions, markets for more Scotch consumption are emerging in Asia, Africa and South America. Additionally, the consumer base is also changing as brands navigate a generation shift.
Some Scotch brands have figured out how to keep up with younger consumers quicker than others, including Ballantine’s, the Scotch brand owned by Pernod Ricard. Ballantine’s saw its sales grow to 9.3 million nine-litre cases in 2024 (a 13.9% boost), which made it our Scotch Brand Champion for 2025.
Paul-André Vacheron, Ballantine’s marketing director at Pernod Ricard’s Scotch whisky arm, Chivas Brothers, says this was due to its broad appeal to both established Scotch drinkers and those new to the sector.
With other categories such as Tequila playing well to younger and curious crowds, Scotch brands are rolling out new campaigns and exciting releases to keep both sets of fans happy.
Overall, whisky volumes are estimated to be on the up – rising by 3.6% from 463 million nine-litre cases in 2023 to 480m in 2024, according to Euromonitor data. The market and its makers are diversifying, and being able to modernise is crucial to maintaining and building success.
Glenfiddich and Grant’s, which have previously been in the section, do not feature in this year’s report as parent company William Grant & Sons declined to provide figures. Below, we count down the 10 biggest-selling Scotch whisky brands from this year’s The Brand Champions report, which is now available to read online.
The data is listed to one decimal place for ease of reading, but the percentage changes were calculated on the full data supplied. All data is recorded in millions of nine-litre cases.
10. Buchanan’s
Owner: Diageo
Volume: 2020: 1.5m | 2021: 2.3m | 2022: 2.5m | 2023: 2.4m | 2024: 2.1m
% change: -10.1%
Place last year: N/A
The first of four Diageo-owned Scotch brands in this year’s top 10, Buchanan’s stayed above the two million nine-litre case mark, but only just. The brand dropped by double digits to hover above 2m, a figure it surpassed in 2021.
In the first half (H1) of its financial results for 2024, Diageo revealed that Buchanan’s sales decreased by 13%, so there may be a bit of sweating in the company’s HQ, though in Latin America and the Caribbean, the brand was reported to have been a main driver for sales in the region.
9. J&B
Owner: Diageo
Volume: 2020: 2.3m | 2021: 2.8m | 2022: 2.9m | 2023: 2.5m | 2024: 2.4m
% change: -4.4%
Place last year: 9
Staying with Diageo, J&B (which stands for Justerini & Brooks) also posted a decline but a less dramatic one than its contemporary above. At 2.4m, it is still moving more cases than in 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, but its much closer to that number than its heyday of 2022.
8. Label 5
Owner: La Martiniquaise-Bardinet
Volume: 2020: 2.6m | 2021: 2.6m | 2022: 2.5m | 2023: 2.4m | 2024: 2.4m
% change: 0.0%
Place last year: 10
Moving away from Diageo, France’s second-biggest spirits producer La Martiniquaise-Bardinet’s sole representative on this list was feeling the déjà vu after posting a stationary performance in 2024. The lack of movement means that though it might not be poppin’ the confetti, it won’t be ringing the alarm bells either.
Recent releases such as its Original Citrus spirit drink shows the brand isn’t afraid to innovate, which could be key if it is to climb back to 2.5m cases and perhaps even beyond.
7. William Peel
Owner: Marie Brizard Wine & Spirits
Volume: 2020: 2.7m | 2021: 2.8m | 2022: 2.7m | 2023: 2.7m | 2024: 2.6m
% change: -5.1%
Place last year: 8
William Peel’s volumes dipped to their lowest total in five years, though at 2.6m cases moved, the brand has managed to hold its position above 2.5m once again.
Looking ahead, its owner Marie Brizard Wines and Spirits’ (MBWS) expects a ‘transition’ year for the group as a whole with trade tensions in its home market of France and the global slowdown of spirits, so it will be interesting to see whether the brand can show resilience in the face of these challenges and return to form in 2025.
6. Black & White
Owner: Diageo
Volume: 2020: 2.9m | 2021: 3.1m | 2022: 3.6m | 2023: 3.2m | 2024: 3.0m
% change: -5.4%
Place last year: 7
The Scotch Whisky Brand Champion of 2018, Black & White, remained above three million cases in 2024, but the ship is rocking in these rough waters. A 5.4% drop means its now seen two consecutive years in decline for the Diageo-owned brand, but its still moving more cases than in 2020. If it isn’t able to steady the ship, perhaps this will change next year.
5. William Lawson’s
Owner: Bacardi
Volume: 2020: 3.3m | 2021: 3.4m | 2022: 3.5m | 2023: 3.4m | 2024: 3.2m
% change: -4.4%
Place last year: 5
Despite being overtaken by Dewar’s as Bacardi’s number one-selling Scotch, and posting a 5.4% drop, William Lawson’s made it five years on the spin for being a three million-case-selling brand.
4. Dewar’s
Owner: Bacardi
Volume: 2020: 2.5m | 2021: 2.8m | 2022: 3.5m | 2023: 3.3m | 2024: 3.3m
% change: 1.8%
Place last year: 6
Heading in the opposite direction to its Bacardi peer above, Dewar’s climbed the rankings ever so slightly last year with a 1.8% rise. Its faring much better than how it performed in 2020, but is still lagging behind its peak in 2022.
Bacardi has made a big push behind the brand in the past year, debuting a new campaign with an image shift, tapping into golf with partnerships with the PGA and the US Open and also making an appearance at one of the entertainment industry’s biggest nights of the year, the Tonys. A consistent stream of innovative releases with its Double Double series should also help to keep the momentum going as the brand approaches its 180th anniversary.
3. Chivas Regal
Owner: Pernod Ricard
Volume: 2020: 3.2m | 2021: 4.1m | 2022: 5.2m | 2023: 4.6m | 2024: 4.8m
% change: 4.8%
Place last year: 3
After the low of last year’s 12% decline, Chivas Regal got to experience a high this year with a 4.8% increase.
The brand is pushing towards the five million mark (which it hit in 2022), and launched innovative products in Extra Smoky Cask Selection and Takumi Reserve last year. It also made moves in sport through partnerships with Formula One and Arsenal Football Club.
2. Ballantine’s
Owner: Pernod Ricard
Volume: 2020: 7.0m | 2021: 8.7m | 2022: 9.2m | 2023: 8.2m | 2024: 9.3m
% change: 13.9%
Place last year: 2
Chivas Regal’s Pernod Ricard Scotch stablemate Ballantine’s was on the rebound last year, with a one million jump in sales and solid double-digit growth. Couple this with a return to 9m cases and its second highest figure since 2020, and the brand was our Scotch Brand Champion for 2025.
A slew of innovations in the past year such as Sweet Blend and Ballantine’s Sunshine grew its appeal to drinkers as the category diversifies, as well its suitability to the increase in demand for premium yet accessible options.
1. Johnnie Walker
Owner: Diageo
Volume: 2020: 14.1m | 2021: 19.1m | 2022: 22.7m | 2023: 22.1m | 2024: 21.6m
% change: -2.0%
Place last year: 1
Drop or not, Johnnie Walker remains the dominant force in Scotch with the distance between itself and the rest of the chasing pack at more than 10m cases.
Don’t expect that gap to close anytime soon, Diageo released Johnnie Walker Black Ruby last year and is shopping the brand in the high-end market after forming a new Luxury Group division to accelerate growth and opening up the Johnnie Walker Vault, described as the next chapter in luxury spirits.
Related news
The best-selling local spirits Brand Champions 2025
