![]() Historically, each had a regional focus (Europe, Asia and North America respectively), but that’s changing now in favour of a more global approach. How to play catch-up? Take three malt distilleries – Dufftown, Glen Ord and Glendullan – and bring them together under one umbrella brand. Singleton is a creation of the modern, 21st-century age of single malt – a determined effort by owner Diageo to create a brand vehicle to take on the might of Glenfiddich and The Glenlivet. This is encapsulated by Macallan’s recently-opened, jaw-dropping £140m new distillery, which aims to do far more than expand its production a long way indeed from the humble beginnings of one of Speyside’s original, early 19th-century farm distilleries. Macallan’s secret? Small stills and a heavy new make character that finds its richest and most complex expression through long maturation in ex-Sherry wood and, more prosaically, a single-minded and long-term focus on pursuing luxury brand positioning, especially in the US and the Far East. If this top 10 were measured by dollar sales, rather than case volumes, Macallan would top the chart by some distance – its annual revenues are only beaten by four Scotch whisky brands, the big blends of Johnnie Walker, Chivas Regal, Ballantine’s and Grant’s. 3: Macallanīeloved by collectors and by a new breed of whisky investor, Macallan dominates the rare whisky auction scene, which in turn casts a beneficial halo over what has become the world’s most lucrative single malt whisky. This modern era has been characterised by an expanding distillery trying to keep pace with demand: The Glenlivet’s 12-year-old age-stated product was withdrawn from most markets in 2015 in favour of NAS expression Founder’s Reserve – but it should be back on sale by 2020. Since The Glenlivet came under the ownership of French drinks group Pernod Ricard in 2001, the ambition has been to make it the world’s best-selling single malt – which it achieved briefly in 2014, before being overtaken again by main rival Glenfiddich. When Bill Smith Grant began a serious push behind The Glenlivet in the US in the 1950s, annual sales stood at less than 700 cases in 2017, they topped 1m cases for the fourth year running, with the US accounting for about 40% of that figure. Popular in…: US, duty free, Taiwan, Canada William Grant would scarcely be able to believe what has happened since and, in particular, since Glenfiddich was fully launched as a single malt during the 1960s: more than 1m nine-litre cases a year sold around the world, and the already vast distillery undergoing further expansion.īuilt on a new make style that is notably light and estery, Glenfiddich’s range has grown and diversified over the years, centred now on a solid offering of age-stated variants, and supported by a long list of one-off and limited releases, including four (to date) entries in its Experimental Series. In 1886, the manager of Mortlach distillery in Dufftown decided to go it alone, investing his life savings and considerable physical effort to build his own plant by the banks of the Fiddich river. Their combined sales are featured here, since no individual breakdown is available.Īs with our recent rundown of the world’s best-selling blends, our list is based on 2017 volume figures, provided by the leading drinks industry data provider and commentator, The IWSR Magazine, and measured in terms of sales of nine-litre cases. #Best macallan whiskey fullBeing able to draw on William Grant & Sons’ full roster of distilleries helps counteract the supply shortages that are currently affecting many single malts.Īnother name on the rise is Diageo’s Singleton brand which, it’s important to note, covers not one but three malt distilleries: Dufftown, Glen Ord and Glendullan. The biggest mover is not a single malt at all, but blended malt Monkey Shoulder, which enjoyed remarkable growth of more than 30% last year. Nothing illustrates this phenomenon better than the fact that there are now two ‘millionaire’ malts on the market: Glenfiddich and The Glenlivet both sell more than 1m nine-litre cases of whisky a year, and they could soon be joined by Macallan.īelow this clear top three, the rankings are more fluid, with none of the rest of the top 10 occupying the same position as in 2016 nonetheless, only two – Glenmorangie and Aberlour – saw their sales decline last year. Malts are still dwarfed by blends – which sell roughly 1bn bottles a year – but, from the US to China, they are growing fast and beginning, very slowly, to eat into the market share of the likes of Johnnie Walker and Ballantine’s. More people are drinking more malt Scotch than ever before – well over 100m bottles in 2017 alone. This is a golden age for malt whisky, certainly in terms of global interest and sales. ![]()
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