The 20 Most Popular Scotch Brands in the World for 2026
While Scotch whisky sales surged in 2021 and 2022, the industry has since taken consistent hits. Last year, global Scotch whisky exports slid by 4.3 percent in volume, according to The Spirits Business’ annual Brand Champions Report. The report, which ranks the world’s 20 top-selling Scotch brands by 9-liter case sales, found 13 of the biggest brands were down year-over-year.
The Spirits Business attributes the sagging sales to the tug-of-war over tariffs, mounting operational costs in the U.K., and wilting demand for Scotch in general, but the outlook isn’t entirely grim. The three best-selling brands in 2025 each fell by less than 10 percent. Black & White, which ranks No. 4, expanded by 14 percent. And, of all 20 brands, each sold one million or more cases last year.
Here are the 20 most popular Scotch brands in the world for 2026.
20. Vat 69
Vat 69 began as a blend crafted by William Sanderson & Son Ltd. in 1882. The story behind the name says Sanderson vatted 100 barrels, invited his friends to choose their favorite, and No. 69 reigned supreme. Diageo scooped up the brand in 1997. Last year, Vat 69 sold 1 million cases, posting an 11.4-percent loss year-over-year.
19. Passport
Established in 1965, Passport Scotch is owned by Pernod Ricard via its Chivas Brothers subsidiary. Passport produces blended whisky and sources its liquid from distilleries around Scotland, primarily in the Speyside region. After taking a significant hit in 2024, the brand was in the red again in 2025, down 23.7 percent year-over-year, but it remained on the list after selling one million cases last year.
18. Bell’s
Arthur Bell founded his eponymous brand in 1851, and it has become one of the top-performing Scotch companies by volume. Guinness, which was later bought by Diageo, acquired Bell’s in 1985. Bell’s saw consistent declines in case sales in the early 2020s, which continued into 2025 when the company sold 1.2 million cases, down 13.4 percent year-over-year.
17. Clan Campbell
The Clan Campbell brand, named after an 11th-century clan from the Scottish Highlands, was established in 1948 with a focus on blended whisky. Stock Spirits Group bought the brand in 2023, and it has since experienced a slow, steady decline in sales since. After dipping by 2.3 percent in 2024, Clan Campell’s volume sales dropped another 3.2 percent last year to 1.3 million cases.
16. The Glenlivet
Today, many Scotch brands begin with the word “The,” a practice that traces back to The Glenlivet, the first to tack the article onto its name. The Glenlivet has been known for its top-notch single malt whisky since its founding in 1842 — one year after the passing of the Excise Act that allowed legal distilling in Scotland for the first time. In 2001, Pernod Ricard picked up the brand. Last year, its sales dropped by 3.7 percent to 1.4 million cases.
15. Teacher’s Highland Cream
Teacher’s Highland Cream, now owned by Suntory Global Spirits, was founded in 1884. It uses a peated single malt from the Ardmore distillery as the base for its whisky. After a steady 2024, Teacher’s Highland Cream’s sales dropped by 13.6 percent in 2025 to 1.6 million cases.
14. Old Parr
The name for Old Parr, founded in 1909, comes from the famous story of Thomas Parr, an Englishman who is said to have lived to 152. The Diageo-owned Scotch brand references Parr’s story to highlight the age of its whiskies — between 12 and 18 years — before blending. From 2020 to 2024, Old Parr doubled in volume sales, a trend that continued into 2025 when it jumped 11.2 percent to 1.6 million cases.
13. 100 Pipers
Jimmy Lang and Alan Baillie, both former master blenders for Chivas Brothers, joined forces to craft the blend for a new brand, 100 Pipers, which first came to market in 1965 in the U.S. and is now bottled in India. 100 Pipers, owned by Pernod Ricard, has been on a slight decline in recent years, and in 2025, it sold 1.7 million cases, a 4.6-percent dip year-over-year.
12. White Horse
White Horse, now owned by Diageo, was founded by James Logan Mackie, formerly a partner at Lagavulin, in 1883. After a 12.6-percent spike in sales in 2024, White Horse slid by 16 percent to 1.7 million cases sold last year.
11. William Peel
Bernard Magrez founded William Peel in Bordeaux in 1964. He started by sourcing malt whiskies from around Scotland before crafting a proprietary blend. Marie Brizard Wine & Spirits, a subsidiary of Belvédère, now owns the brand. William Peel’s volume sales took a 22.7-percent hit last year, dropping to 2 million units.
10. Sir Edward’s
Founded in 1891, Sir Edward’s is a blended Scotch whisky brand now owned by France-based La Martiniquaise-Bardinet. Its whiskies are blended in Scotland before being bottled in Bordeaux. Sir Edward’s saw 7.5 percent growth in 2024 and carried that momentum into 2025 when it posted a 1.5-percent uptick in volume sales, reaching 2.1 million cases.
9. J&B
Introduced as Justerini & Brooks Ltd. in 1749, J&B became known for its Scotch production when it introduced a light-bodied blend to cater to American consumers after Prohibition. Now owned by Diageo, J&B reported a 6.3-percent slide in volume sales to 2.2 million cases.
8. Label 5
Label 5 was founded in 1969 as a blended whisky brand. La Martiniquaise-Bardinet now owns the name and the distillery in Speyside that produces the majority of the whiskies that go into its blends. After posting flat case sales in 2024, Label 5 sold 2.3 million cases last year, a 4.9-percent drop year-over-year.
7. Buchanan’s
James Buchanan founded his London-based Scotch brand in 1884, and its flagship Scotch, The Buchanan Blend, aimed to satisfy the palate of English consumers. Diageo scooped up the brand in 1997, and since the acquisition, the Buchanan’s portfolio has expanded to include a range of whisky expressions. In 2025, its sales were down 8.9 percent to 2.3 million cases.
6. William Lawson’s
William Lawson debuted his blended Scotch brand in 1889 with the flagship product, William Lawson’s Finest Blend. In 1993, Bacardi picked up the company, which sources its liquid from a distillery in the Scottish Highlands. Sales totaled 3.2 million cases in 2025, a 1.5-percent decrease year-over-year.
5. Dewar’s
Dewar’s was established in 1846, and 60 years later, it introduced the product that would come to define the brand, Dewar’s White Label. Bacardi now owns Dewar’s, which increased its sales by 1.8 percent in 2024. That growth didn’t continue into the following year, though its sales dropped by only 2.4 percent to 3.2 million cases.
4. Black & White
James Buchanan, founder of Buchanan’s, was also the mastermind behind the blended Scotch brand Black & White, which he started in the 1880s before it received its current name in 1902. After falling in volume sales in 2024, the brand, now under the Diageo umbrella, recorded the most growth of all 20 Scotch brands on this list at 14 percent year-over-year, jumping to 3.4 million cases.
3. Chivas Regal
Chivas Regal entered the market in 1909 with a 25-year-old Scotch, which many consider to be the first luxury blended whisky. The Pernod Ricard subsidiary Chivas Brothers is now the brand’s parent company. Last year, Chivas Regal’s volume sales were down 1.5 percent, but it still sold 4.7 million cases.
2. Ballantine’s
George Ballantine opened a grocery store in Edinburgh in 1827 and began blending single malt Scotch whiskies there. His patrons grew fond of his blends, prompting him to found the Ballantine’s brand that same year. Pernod Ricard now owns the label, which sold 9.1 million cases in 2025, a 3.2-percent drop year-over-year.
1. Johnnie Walker
Johnnie Walker was trademarked in 1908, the same year the brand debuted its three flagship products: Black, Red, and White Label. The Diageo-owned company consistently ranks as the top-selling Scotch brand in the world by volume. In 2025, the brand outpaced the runner-up by over 11 million cases, selling 20.3 million units despite a 6-percent sales decline from the previous year.
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