When the distilleries behind today's bottles opened, closed and changed hands

Every bottle on the shelf comes from a distillery with a history of its own. This timeline shows when the distilleries behind the bottles we list opened, closed, were revived or changed hands, set against the events that shaped the trade: the 1823 Excise Act, the Pattison crash of 1898, the Campbeltown collapse and the closures of the 1980s. A distillery that closed decades ago can still turn up in a shop as old stock; those bottles are on our lost distilleries page.

Dates come from our distillery records and the books and articles cited against each entry. Where a record is uncertain we say so, and entries we rate low confidence are hidden from the chart unless you ask for them. For the full story of a distillery, follow the Whiskipedia links; for the bottles, follow the distillery name.

For the total, see how many Scotch distilleries were operating each year.