The 20 Most Popular Scotch Brands in the World for 2025
The Scotch whisky market boomed in 2021 and 2022. But following a period of substantial growth, 2024 proved to be a difficult year for the industry. According to The Spirits Business, Scotch exports dropped by 18 percent in the first half of 2024 when compared to the same period the year before.
Bumps in domestic taxes and tightening regulations, pressure on consumer spending, and instabilities in the global trade market have put constraints on producers and customers alike. The lattermost issue is a particular challenge for an industry that exports 90 percent of its products.
Nonetheless, there were a few bright spots for the Scotch business in 2024. According to The Spirits Business’s annual “Brand Champions” report, a handful of brands like Ballantine’s and Sir Edward’s have navigated the high seas, increasing case sales by 13.9 and 7.5 percent respectively. When it comes to the industry at large though, Johnnie Walker is still leading the charge by a long shot, with a whopping 21.6 million case sales in 2024.
Check out the world’s 20 most popular Scotch brands below.
20. Black Dog
Produced by United Spirits Limited, a subsidiary of Diageo, Black Dog is a blended Scotch whisky brand with nearly 150 years of history. Although the whisky is distilled in Scotland, as of 1992, all Black Dog expressions are bottled in India — a tactic the brand uses to dodge hefty tariffs on spirits bottled prior to import. In 2024, case sales jumped up by 7.1 percent to hit 1.2 million.
19. Clan Campbell
As its name suggests, Clan Campbell is closely associated with the Clan Campbell, a Scottish clan formed in the Highlands in the 11th century. The blended Scotch brand dates back to 1948, and sources claim that the Clan Campbell is the most popular ‘premium whisky’ in France. It became a part of the Stock Spirits Group portfolio in 2023 and has maintained relatively steady sales in recent years, though case sales dipped 2.3 percent in 2024.
18. The Glenlivet
The originator of the widely used “the” prefix in Scotch brand naming, The Glenlivet has been producing single malt Scotch whisky in Speyside since 1824. That’s only one year after the Excise Act passed, which allowed whisky producers to obtain legal distilling licenses in Scotland for the first time. The household name brand was acquired by Pernod Ricard in 2001 and saw a 6.3 percent decline in sales last year.
17. Bell’s
Known for its iconic limited-edition bell-shaped decanters, Bell’s was founded by its namesake Arthur Bell in 1851. Over the next 100 years, the brand grew to become one of the biggest players in the blended Scotch whisky space. Now under the Diageo umbrella, Bell’s sales declined steadily in the early 2020s, though case sales were flat year-over-year in 2024 at 1.3 million.
16. Passport
Passport Scotch is a blended whisky brand born in 1965 and produced by the Chivas Brothers, a subsidiary of Pernod Ricard. The Passport house blend allegedly contains several malt and grain whiskies from Scotland’s Speyside region, and is predominantly aged in American oak casks. Passport took a pretty big hit in case sales last year, dropping by 9.4 percent, but it’s still one of the most popular blended Scotches out there, with 1.4 million cases sold.
15. Teacher’s Highland Cream
Established in 1884, the Teacher’s Highland Cream blend allegedly uses a peated single malt from The Ardmore distillery as its base whisky. Last year, the Suntory Global Spirits-owned brand maintained relatively steady sales, offloading approximately 1.4 million cases.
14. Old Parr
Launched in 1909, Old Parr is named after Thomas Parr, an Englishman who allegedly lived to the age of 152. The brand name was meant to pay homage to the maturity of the whiskies used in the blend. Even though the now Diageo-owned brand hasn’t been distributed in its home country since the ‘80s, it’s popular in Latin America and the Caribbean. The brand has doubled its case sales since 2020, jumping an impressive 10 percent last year to reach 1.4 million.
13. 100 Pipers
Introduced in 1965, 100 Pipers is a blended Scotch whisky built on a blend created by Jimmy Lang and Chivas Brothers master blender Alan Baillie. 100 Pipers was first launched in the U.S., is now bottled in India, and sells the majority of its whisky in Asia. The Pernod Ricard-owned brand sold 1.8 million cases in 2023, but experienced a 2.8 percent dip in case sales in 2024, finishing the year with 1.7 million cases sold.
12. Sir Edward’s
Sir Edward’s is a blended Scotch whisky brand that first hit the market in 1891. Currently owned by French drinks conglomerate La Martiniquaise-Bardinet, the brand blends and ages all of its whiskies in Scotland before sending them off to Bordeaux to be bottled. In 2024, Sir Edward’s crossed the two million case threshold for the first time after increasing sales by 7.5 percent year-over-year.
11. White Horse
Diageo’s White Horse was founded by James Logan Mackie, a former partner at Lagavulin, in 1883. Between 2022 and 2023, White Horse’s sales dropped from 2.6 million cases to 1.8 million, though the brand recovered slightly in 2024. Last year, White Horse racked up 2.1 million case sales — a 12.6 percent increase from the previous year.
10. Buchanan’s
James Buchanan established his namesake London-based brand in 1884 with the intent of creating a blended whisky that would appeal to the English palate. He crafted The Buchanan Blend, and it was all uphill from there. Since 1997, Buchanan’s has been under the Diageo umbrella, and now produces a range of whiskies. The brand experienced significant growth after 2020, but case sales have slipped slightly over the past two years. In 2024, case sales were down 10.1 percent year-over-year.
9. J&B
Justerini & Brooks Ltd. has been in the wine and spirits business since 1749, but the company is best known for the 1935 introduction of J&B Rare, a light-bodied blended Scotch designed for the post-Prohibition American palate. Today, J&B whiskies are available in several countries around the globe. Currently owned by Diageo, J&B’s 2024 case sales amounted to 2.4 million, down 4.4 percent year-over-year.
8. Label 5
Founded in 1969, Label 5 is a blended whisky brand owned by La Martiniquaise-Bardinet. In 2008, the French spirits group purchased Speyside’s Glen Moray distillery, which today produces the majority of the whiskies used in the Label 5 blend. Last year, the brand’s case sales remained flat year-over-year, with 2.4 million cases sold in both 2023 and 2024.
7. William Peel
Founded in 1964 by French entrepreneur Bernard Magrez in Bordeaux, William Peel originally sourced various malt whiskies from Scotland before concocting the blend that put the brand in the limelight. In 2005, the brand was scooped up by Marie Brizard Wine & Spirits, now a subsidiary of Belvédère, and allegedly has a huge following in France. In 2024, William Peel’s case sales dropped by 5.1 percent, moving 2.6 million cases last year.
6. Black & White
Arguably the most famous blended whisky created by James Buchanan, Black & White was essentially a rebranding of his Buchanan Blend. Like Buchanan’s, Black & White is also now owned by Diageo, and in 2024, the brand sold approximately 3 million cases, a 5.4 percent decrease from 2023.
5. William Lawson’s
William Lawson’s was founded by its namesake, William Lawson, in 1889. The brand’s flagship expression, William Lawson’s Finest Blend, is an unpeated blend crafted with a base single malt from the Scottish Highlands’ Macduff distillery. William Lawson’s was acquired by Bacardi in 1993, and although the brand saw a 4.4 percent drop in case sales in 2024, it still managed to sell 3.2 million cases.
4. Dewar’s
The Dewar’s brand may have been established in 1846, but it wasn’t until 1906 that the brand’s most popular whisky was first crafted. That year, master blender A.J. Cameron created Dewar’s White Label, the brand’s best-selling whisky to this day. Dewar’s is now a household name in the Scotch realm, and the Bacardi-owned brand continues to thrive, moving 3.3 million cases in 2024 — a 1.8 percent increase from the previous year.
3. Chivas Regal
In 1909, Chivas Regal started its journey with a strong first impression: a 25-year-old Scotch that many consider to be the first-ever luxury blended whisky. At that point, the Chivas family was no longer involved in the business, but the name stuck, and the Chivas Brothers beverage company — now owned by Pernod Ricard — still operates numerous distilleries around Scotland. Chivas Regal sold 4.8 million cases last year, marking a 4.8 percent increase from 2023.
2. Ballantine’s
In 1827, George Ballantine opened a grocery store in Edinburgh, started blending single malts, and eventually gained a high reputation for his hand-crafted blends. Almost 200 years later, the now Pernod Ricard-owned brand is one of the best-selling Scotches in the world. After a rocky 2023, Ballantine’s made a heroic comeback last year, increasing its sales volume by a whopping 13.9 percent year-over-year to reach 9.3 million cases.
1. Johnnie Walker
Arguably no blended Scotch brand is as universally known as Johnnie Walker. The brand was established as a registered trademark in 1908, and that same year, it launched its three core expressions: White, Red, and Black Label. In 2024, the Diageo-owned brand sold 21.6 million cases of whisky — over 10 million cases more than runner up Ballantine’s.
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