Whiskey Industry in the UK - Statistics & Facts

The whiskey industry in the United Kingdom has proven to be more resilient than other segments of the alcoholic beverages market in the United Kingdom . Despite the same challenges of rising costs and taxes, sales and exports have increased. The retail spirits market, as a whole, was worth12.85 billion GBP in the United Kingdom in 2023. Whiskey constituted about 16 percent of that value at 1.47 billion pounds.

Exports reach a new high

Manufacturers sales of whiskey produced in the United Kingdom reached 5.1 billion pounds in 2022, an all-time record. Much of that whiskey was destined for foreign markets. The UK was, by far, the leading exporter of whiskey worldwide in that year. Over 7.8 billion U.S. dollars (6.1 billion GBP) worth of the beverage was exported from the UK. The Asia Pacific region was the purchaser of most of the UK's whiskey exports and nearly all of those exports were Scotch whiskey.

Consumption decline levels off

There were over nine million whiskey drinkers in the UK in 2021, nearly 2.3 million of which drank whiskey once a week or more. Total consumption of whiskey in the United Kingdom sank to 39.9 million liters in 2022, a reduction of 10 percent compared to 2018 but just 1.3 percent compared to 2021. Per capita consumption stood at 0.59 liters and is expected to remain relatively unchanged in the future. Famous Grouse was the preferred brand of blended Scotch in the UK.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.
Published by Jan Conway, Feb 27, 2024

Key insights

Spirits market revenue in the UK
12.85bn USD
Sales of whisky manufactured in the UK
5.1bn GBP
Whisky sales volume in the UK
39.91m liters
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Editor’s Picks Current statistics on this topic

Volume of the whisky market in the United Kingdom from 2018 to 2028 (in million litres)

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Volume of whisky in the UK 2018-2028

Leading whiskey brands ranked by on-trade sales value in the United Kingdom in 2023 (in million GBP)

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Leading whiskey brands in the United Kingdom 2023, by on-trade sales value

Volume of whisky exports from the United Kingdom (UK) from 2003 to 2022* (in million liters)

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Whisky export volume in the United Kingdom (UK) 2003-2022

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