How many Scotch distilleries were operating each year, 1740 to 2026

152 Scotch distilleries are operating in 2026, the most since 1912, against a peak of 168 in 1899.

Updated 23 October 2026Download the data (CSV)

152 Scotch distilleries operating in 2026, the most since 1912; the peak was 168 in 1899

Operating at some point in the year. Hatched: low-confidence records (at most 8 a year). Shaded: industry events. Hover, or focus the chart and use the arrow keys, for any year.

By region same scale; the dot marks each region's peak

The figures by decade

Scotch distilleries operating, by decade
Decade	Operating in the first year	Lowest	Highest	Low-confidence records
1740s	0	0	1	none
1750s	1	1	1	none
1760s	1	1	3	none
1770s	5	5	7	none
1780s	9	9	11	none
1790s	12	12	23	up to 1
1800s	23	23	25	up to 1
1810s	30	30	53	up to 3
1820s	54	54	103	up to 5
1830s	110	110	127	up to 8
1840s	126	124	130	up to 6
1850s	130	123	130	up to 5
1860s	123	119	123	up to 3
1870s	119	119	129	up to 3
1880s	129	129	133	up to 3
1890s	133	133	168	up to 4
1900s	167	157	167	up to 4
1910s	157	143	157	up to 4
1920s	143	103	143	up to 2
1930s	96	86	96	none
1940s	94	93	97	none
1950s	97	97	106	none
1960s	108	107	119	none
1970s	118	118	123	none
1980s	120	88	120	none
1990s	97	90	98	none
2000s	92	91	100	none
2010s	100	100	129	none
2020s	133	133	152	none

Events marked on the chart and their sources

Excise Act (1823). Source: (from dataset event tables / general history); confidence high.
1820s licensed-distilling glut / post-Excise-Act shake-out (1825 to 1831). Source: H. Charles Craig, The Scotch Whisky Industry Record (1994); Neil Wilson, The Island Whisky Trail (2003/2013).; confidence medium.
The Pattison Crash (1898 to 1901). Source: Pattison Crash features (Barlist / scotchwhisky.com / Whisky Magazine), 2023-2025.; confidence medium.
The 1920s Campbeltown collapse (1920 to 1934). Source: Distilleries of Campbeltown, David Stirk.; confidence high.
The 1980s Whisky Loch closures (1983 to 1986). Source: Whisky Magazine 'Silence is golden', Issue 195 (Dec 2023); H. Charles Craig, The Scotch Whisky Industry Record (1994); Malt Whisky Yearbook 2016; Scotch Missed, Brian Townsend.; confidence high.

Left out because our records show them closed without a closure year: Broombrae (from 1833), Drumin (from 1824), Haddington (from 1813), Kilbagie (from 1777), Stromness (from 1817).

The count climbed after the 1823 Excise Act, peaked in the Victorian blending boom, halved by the 1930s, fell again after 1983 and has risen since. The timeline shows the openings and closures behind each step, the distillery map shows where they were, and our lost distilleries page compares prices on closed distilleries’ whisky still on sale.

The count fell from 168 in 1899 to 86 by 1935, the lowest since 1824.
The 1980s closures took it from 120 in 1981 to 88 in 1988: a quarter gone in seven years.
Campbeltown had 28 distilleries working in 1834 and has 3 today.

Source: Uisge Beatha distillery records: status periods, industry contractions and milestones. Updated 23 October 2026. Free to reuse with a link to this page.

About this data: method, downloads and sources

How we did it

What counts. Each distillery in our records has a dated history of status periods: active, mothballed, closed or dismantled. A distillery counts in a year when one of its active periods covers any part of that year, so a distillery that closed in 1983 counts in 1983 and not in 1984. Mothballed years do not count. The 22 planned distilleries never count. Five closed distilleries have an opening date but no recorded closure year; rather than count them as working to the present, we leave them out and list them under the chart.

What it is not. This counts the 297 Scottish distilleries in our records that have a dated history, not every licence ever granted. Our records are thinnest before the 1823 Excise Act, when much distilling was unlicensed, and for small sites that lasted a few years in the 1800s, so the early counts are a floor rather than a census. Grain distilleries kept only in our separate grain list are not included.

Confidence. Every period carries a confidence rating from its source. Nine periods are rated low; years that count a distillery only on a low-confidence period are hatched on the chart (at most eight distilleries in any year), and every year includes them in the total. Industry events come from the same records and show their sources below the chart.

Dates. Built from our distillery records as checked on 23 October 2026. For the history behind each date, see the timeline and Whiskipedia.

Download the data

Distilleries operating each year, 1740 to 2026, with regions (CSV)

Free to reuse with a link to this page.

Sources

Prices are the shelf prices we recorded at UK retailers on the dates shown and change daily. Uisge Beatha compares prices; it does not sell whisky or give investment advice. Please enjoy whisky responsibly: drinkaware.co.uk.

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