Top 10 biggest-selling Scotch Brand Champions
It’s been a tough few years for Scotch, but some brands have managed to weather the storm – with one even managing to grow by double digits.
Last year dealt a number of headaches to the Scotch industry, with the tariff back and forth, the rising cost of doing business in the UK, and a decline in global whisky demand, which saw a number of distilleries reduce their workforces.
Global Scotch whisky exports declined by 1.8% in value and 4.3% in volume in 2025, according to the Scotch Whisky Association’s latest data, reflecting the pressure the industry has come under of late.
Nevertheless, it’s not all doom and gloom. Three of the top 10 biggest-selling Scotch brands in The Brand Champions report achieved volume growth, with the category’s biggest seller continuing to soar ahead of the rest.
Scroll down to see the biggest performers from The Brand Champions 2026 report.
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. Sir Edward’s
Owner: La Martiniquaise-Bardinet
2021: 1.9m | 2022: 1.8m | 2023: 1.9m | 2024: 2.0m | 2025: 2.1m
Growth: 1.5%
Place last year: N/A
French spirits firm La Martiniquaise-Bardinet’s blended Scotch whisky Sir Edward’s has been a picture of consistency over the past five years. By holding firm and staying above two million nine-litre cases in 2025, achieving resilient 1.5% growth, it has become the Scotch Whisky Brand Champion for 2026.
While Sir Edward’s “maintains a leading position in France”, international marketing manager Pia Garenne says it’s also “steadily expanding across both mature and emerging international markets”.
Garenne highlights the brand’s We Are Master Blenders campaign, designed to show Sir Edward’s as a whisky of choice for both everyday moments and special occasions, as well as a marketing push in Latin America and Africa.
9. J&B
Owner: Diageo
2021: 2.8m | 2022: 2.9m | 2023: 2.5m | 2024: 2.4m | 2025: 2.2m
Growth: -6.3%
Place last year: 9
Holding strong in ninth place is Diageo’s J&B, which continued its steady decline from 2022’s high of 2.9m cases. With Brand Champion Sir Edward’s nipping at its heels, will 2026 see J&B get its act together or tumble below the 2m case mark?
8. Label 5
Owner: La Martiniquaise-Bardinet
2021: 2.6m | 2022: 2.5m | 2023: 2.4m | 2024: 2.4m | 2025: 2.3m
Growth: -4.9%
Place last year: 8
Just like J&B, Label 5 managed to hold on to its ranking despite yet another year in decline – this time by nearly 5%. The brand is owned by La Martiniquaise-Bardinet, which may be less happy about this performance than that of stablemate and Brand Champion Sir Edward’s. Perhaps there are lessons to be learned here that will take Label 5 back into growth for 2026.
7. Buchanan’s
Owner: Diageo
2021: 2.3m | 2022: 2.5m | 2023: 2.4m | 2024: 2.1m | 2025: 2.3m
Growth: 8.9%
Place last year: 10
The first big mover in the top 10 list, Diageo-owned Buchanan’s achieved a masterful 8.9% growth to soar past J&B and Label 5 to seventh place. The brand released a new expression called Green Seal in late 2025, which it hopes will target high-energy occasions. The proof of the pudding will be in next year’s Brand Champions report.
6. William Lawson’s
Owner: Bacardi
2021: 3.4m | 2022: 3.5m | 2023: 3.4m | 2024: 3.2m | 2025: 3.2m
Growth: -1.5%
Place last year: 5
Bacardi will be cursing Diageo when it sees that not one but two of its brands were knocked down by the rankings by one of the British-headquartered firm’s whiskies in 2025. The first, William Lawson’s, suffered an almost respectable fall of just 1.5% – a reasonable result considering the circumstances, and the performance of its stablemate Dewar’s.
5. Dewar’s
Owner: Bacardi
2021: 2.8m | 2022: 3.5m | 2023: 3.3m | 2024: 3.3m | 2025: 3.2m
Growth: -2.4%
Place last year: 4
And there’s the real pain for Bacardi. Scotch whisky brand Dewar’s tumbled by 2.4%, losing fourth place and just managing to pip its much more budget-friendly brother William Lawson’s to the post.
What makes matters worse is Bacardi’s solid focus on Dewar’s in the past few years. The brand launched a marketing campaign to meet changing premiumisation trends in late 2024, but this – as well as the world’s ‘first’ stone-toasted whisky and a partnership with the Tony Awards – wasn’t enough to achieve real volume growth last year.
4. Black & White
Owner: Diageo
2021: 3.1m | 2022: 3.6m | 2023: 3.2m | 2024: 3.0m | 2025: 3.4m
Growth: 14.0%
Place last year: 6
Diageo managed to bag the award for biggest volume growth achieved by a Scotch brand in 2025, with Black & White growing by 14% and soaring above Bacardi’s two brands into fourth place. Third place is still more than 1m nine-litre cases away, but the trajectory is certainly looking positive for Black & White.
3. Chivas Regal
Owner: Pernod Ricard
2021: 4.1m | 2022: 5.2m | 2023: 4.6m | 2024: 4.8m | 2025: 4.7m
Growth: -1.5%
Place last year: 3
The top three biggest-selling Scotch brands all managed to hold onto their spot from 2024, despite all three stumbling in terms of volume growth. Pernod Ricard’s Chivas Regal managed to stem the flow to a decline of 1.5%.
In 2025, the brand was behind a host of innovations and releases, including clear spirit drink Crystalgold – although as its creators admit, it’s not a Scotch. It’s also continued a longstanding partnership with Formula One driver Charles Leclerc, most recently creating its first 16-year-old whisky.
It’s also worth noting that master blender Sandy Hyslop threw in the towel and retired at the end of 2025, with some of the year spent ensuring a smooth transition to Kevin Balmforth.
2. Ballantine’s
Owner: Pernod Ricard
2021: 8.7m | 2022: 9.2m | 2023: 8.2m | 2024: 9.4m | 2025: 9.1m
Growth: -3.2%
Place last year: 2
Pernod Ricard won’t be happy with a 3.2% fall, but the firm can rest easy knowing that Ballantine’s remains nearly twice as big as its next competitor. The brand achieved an astonishing growth of 13.9% in 2024, which made it our Scotch Brand Champion last year – but ultimately, that performance was too hard to match for a second year running. However, Ballantine’s remained ahead of its 2023 sales, so crisis talks have probably not started just yet.
In 2025, the brand released a 30% ABV expression called Sweet Blend, paid tribute to two musical acts through limited edition bottles, and revealed the third edition of its 40 Year Old Masterclass Collection.
1. Johnnie Walker
Owner: Diageo
2021: 19.1m | 2022: 22.7m | 2023: 22.1m | 2024: 21.6m | 2025: 20.3m
Growth: -6.0%
Place last year: 1
There was never a chance of Johnnie Walker slipping from the top spot, but a 6% decline is a tough position even for a brand that dominates the Scotch whisky category. Like many spirits brands, Johnnie Walker has been falling since the heady heights of 2022, but it still remains above 20m cases.
The blended Scotch has long been a jewel in Diageo’s crown, but that could all change with incoming CEO Dave Lewis, who has pledged to focus on the mass market – which goes against Johnnie Walker’s premium positioning. Perhaps that is why the brand released a ‘sweeter, smoother’ version of Red Label for the ‘non-whisky drinker’ titled Red Soul in March 2026.
Despite the disappointing numbers, 2025 was a huge year for Johnnie Walker, featuring collaborations with Ronny Chieng, Olivier Rousteing and Mr Lyan – not to mention a blockbuster deal with Sabrina Carpenter. The brand also released a permanent expression, Black Ruby, paired with a ready-to-drink format.
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