Scotch whisky had a difficult year in The Millionaires’ Club, with combined volumes among the Scotch brands falling from 69.5 million to 67.4 million cases.

The category remains one of the ranking’s most globally distributed spirits segments, but the latest data shows pressure across several of its biggest names.

Johnnie Walker is still far and away the leading Scotch brand and the only one to break the 10 million case barrier, but its decline from 21.6 million to 20.3 million cases mirrored the wider category’s performance.

Ballantine’s also slipped, from 9.3 million to 9.1 million, while Chivas Regal posted a similar rate of fall to 4.7 million. Dewar’s, William Peel, Label 5 and J&B all recorded small declines, reinforcing the sense of a category facing soft demand in a number of volume markets.

The brighter spots came mainly from value and brands with strong regional heritage lower down the table. Black & White, which claims to be the most successful Scotch in France and Brazil, rose 13% to 3.4 million cases, while Teacher’s and Old Parr both gained 14.3% to reach 1.6 million. The Glenlivet also grew, albeit from a smaller base, suggesting that premium single malts can still find momentum even when the wider Scotch category is under strain.

The results point to a category caught between long-term brand equity and short-term market pressure. Scotch still has unrivalled international reach and a deep bench of millionaire brands, but growth is no longer automatic.

Read the full ranking and all other category analyses in The Millionaires’ Club 2026.