The Glenlivet Claims Top Selling Single Malt Crown

By Richard Thomas

The rivalry between the two biggest names single malt whisky heated up yesterday, as The Glenlivet laid claim to the title of the world’s top-selling single malt.

Until last year, The Glenfiddich, owned by William Grant & Sons, had been both the world’s top seller and the only single malt Scotch in the world with sales topping one million cases. That changed last summer, as Pernod Ricard’s The Glenlivet also crossed the one million case mark. This achievement led to speculation that The Glenlivet would overtake The Glenfiddich in the near term, since sales growth of the latter brand was essentially flat.

This news was followed by Pernod Ricard’s December 2014 announcement of plans to expand The Glenlivet Distillery so as to triple production.

Now IWSR indicates that sales of The Glenlivet reached 1.065 million cases by December 2014, surpassing those of The Glenfiddich. In terms of volume, The Glenlivet is now the world’s top single malt.