Top Performing Distilleries
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Scotland is known for its whisky, and it’s no secret that the country has had a rich history of industry-scale distilling since the late 1500s.
In fact, Scotland is home to a number of world-famous distilleries – including Ardbeg, The Macallan, Port Ellen, Lagavulin and Bowmore – that have been producing some of the finest spirits in the world for centuries.
However, as with any industry or profession, there are always going to be those who stand out as being better than others.
With this in mind, we’ve compiled a list of what we believe are currently some of Scotland’s top-performing whisky distillers!
How the different distilleries are ranked
Before we break down the different distilleries and look at their market value, we need to highlight how we're ranking them. In this case, we're using the WhiskyStats Distiller Index, which was started in December 2012. Distilleries are attributed a starting value of 100 and, based on auction data, that value rises or drops on a monthly basis.
Below we’ve listed the fourteen top-performing distilleries in Scotland in alphabetical order to discuss their recent history and overall market position. This section contains some infographics and charts that visualises the performance of all the distilleries within the index.
When looking at the performance data, specifically on a short time frame such as 1 year, it is important to acknowledge how the underlying data is collected. For some months there are very few auction results available for inclusion in the dataset, and outliers can therefore affect the performance of the entire month. This can create occasions where the index shows a drop, but it does not necessarily reflect a true drop in the value of a particular distillery. The data should instead be used, as we do ourselves, as one indicator as part of the wider industry trends and the longer time frame view of individual distilleries.
Rosebank
#1 Highest Ranked Distillery 2021
Macallan
#2 Highest Ranked Distillery 2021
Brora
#3 Highest Ranked Distillery 2021
Bar Chart Race
WhiskyStats Distiller Index - All Time Performance
The Aberlour distillery is located in the Speyside region of Scotland, near Elgin. It produces malt whisky that is made from a combination of water sourced from springs and burn-water drawn directly from the River Spey.
The distillery’s whiskies are available as part of many blended Scotch Whisky brands including Ballantine’s Finest, Chivas Regal 12 Year Old, and Cutty Sark.
A consistent favourite of both collectors and investors, the market value of Aberlour bottles has increased 109.23% over the last decade and 11.22% in the last 12 months.
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The Ardbeg distillery is located on the island of Islay in Scotland’s Inner Hebrides region. It produces malt whisky that has a strong peaty flavour due to being produced from barley dried over an open flame before fermentation occurs with water sourced from Loch Uigeadail.
The general popularity of Ardbeg malts has seen them increase in value 171.39% over the last decade, 15.83% in the last year, and even spike in value by almost 100% during March 2020 as investors highlighted the brand as an economic safe harbour.
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Located in the Highlands region of Scotland, BenRaich distillery is one that produces a medium-bodied whisky with hints of vanilla and citrus. The water used to create their whisky comes from an aquifer deep beneath the Speyside countryside.
BenRiach has seen consistent improvement in value over the decade, with a 103.83% and while value did fluctuate heavily during the pandemic, it still averaged out as a 4.22% rise.
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Bowmore is a single malt whisky distiller located in the town of Bowmore on the island of Islay. The distillery was founded in 1779 and produces its own take on classic Scottish whiskey with smoky, peaty flavours that are balanced out by subtle sweetness.
While Bowmore’s value has increased by 120.27% over the last 10 years, its popularity has dipped over the last year, with a -46.46% loss in value over the last 12 months.
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Filterable Bar Chart
WhiskyStats Distiller Index - All Time Performance
Brora is a shuttered distillery that produced its last drop in 1983, but has been recently resurrected. The new Brora produces whiskies with an emphasis on the original character of the whisky from this distillery.
Bora has also seen a recent drop in value of -37.84% in the last 12 months, compared to its ten-year rise of 250.5%. This could be down to its reopening and the reduction in the rarity of its product.
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Dalmore distillery was founded in 1839 and is located on the banks of the River Spey. The Dalmore uses a unique process to produce their whiskies, ageing them slowly over great depths underground where it stays cool even during summer months thanks to its high altitude.
Dalmore has experienced modest growth over the ten year period, with a 113.06% rise in value, but recent price fluctuations have seen its 12-month value fall by -51.18%.
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Glen Elgin Distillery was founded in 1897 and is located near the town of Rothes on Speyside. The whisky from this region has a strong, unique flavour that makes it distinct compared to other regions due to its high altitude climate which causes slow evaporation rates during the summer months.
While Glen Elgin has seen the most modest increase in value over the last decade, a still admirable 65.56% rise, it continues to rise consistently, increasing its market value by 7.52% in the last year.
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Glendronach distillery was founded in 1826 and is located near the town of Forgue on Speyside. It has a rich history that includes being brought back into production by William Teacher & Sons Ltd in 2002, after taking an unofficial hiatus since it closed in 1996.
Another consistent climber, the Glendronach distillery has increased its market value by 140.84% over the last decade and 12.27% over the course of the last 12-months.
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Laphroaig distillery was founded in 1815 and is located on the island of Islay. It has an iconic smoky flavour due to its location surrounded by peat bogs that are home to one of Scotland’s few remaining native woodlands where trees are cut down, dried then burned for heat energy used during whisky production.
Despite Laphroaig’s reputation as a collectible, its value has dropped -37.33% over the last 12-months, although its overall value increase of 106.09% over the last decade is still remarkably healthy.
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Longmorn Distillery was founded in 1893 and is located on Speyside. It makes use of the same floor maltings used during its early years, which are still manually turned by hand to this day – with roughly one tonne of barley being delivered every hour.
Longmorn experienced a sudden peak of popularity in January and February, with a huge jump in value, that has now flattened out to a more modest 8.96% increase over the last 12-months with a stronger 106.32% increase over the last decade.
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The Macallan Distillery was founded in 1824 and is located on Speyside. It has a unique production process that takes up to three days of distilling, the reason behind its unusually rich taste and superb quality. A bottle of Macallan 1926 60-Year-Old Scotch currently holds the world record for the most expensive bottle of whisky ever sold at $1.9 million.
The Macallan cements its reputation as a whisky powerhouse with an incredible 324.4% increase in value over the decade and a 37% increase in the last 12-months.
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The Port Ellen Distillery is one of the most famous ‘lost’ distilleries in Scotland and was built in 1825. It has been closed since 1983, but recently there have been talks about reopening it for visitors under a new name, called ‘Port Ellen Maltings’ – which will be run by Diageo.
News of a potential reopening of Port Ellen Distillery has caused prices to drop by -47.3% over the last year, although the long term value increase is still very healthy at 134.14%.
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Rosebank is another one of the legendary ‘lost’ distilleries and was known for its fine single malt whisky. The Rosebank Distillery has been closed since 1993 and the buildings were demolished in 2002. There are very few bottles remaining out there today; however, they can fetch high amounts at auction due to their rarity.
One of only a few distilleries on this list whose malts compete with The Macallan in terms of overall auction price, the rarity of Rosebank single malts has seen prices rise by 470.92% over the last decade and continue to rise by 39.23% over the last year.
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One of only three distilleries in the Campbelltown area, Springbank is one of the most popular single malt whisky distilleries in Scotland. Springbank is the only Scottish distillery to perform every step in the whisky-making process and produces only three malt variants.
Springbank’s value fluctuates hard and has done so since 2012. While it has had a consistent 145.4% increase over the last ten years, its current value is nearly half what it was in February, with an overall -32.46% drop for the last 12-months.
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