Which whisky brands dominate the secondary market?

In the ninth Whisky Intelligence report by Noble & Co, the top brands by volume and value in the secondary market for fine and rare whisky were examined, with a few surprise features.

The annual report leverages Noble & Co’s dataset, with analysis of approximately one-million bottles transacted at auctions globally.

Throughout the 12 months to September 2024, the dataset saw a 16% decline in volume and an 18% drop in value transacted, as lower-priced bottles showed resilience while higher value segments faced significant headwinds. But which whisky brands came out on top?

According to the report, Edrington-owned The Macallan takes the top spot on the podium for both value and volume for 2024, despite significant drops of 41% and 51% respectively.

The Speyside-based producer boasted a 2024 secondary market value of £14,211,097 (US$17,627,018), while volume sank from 26,994 to 13,329. The report suggests that this drop is on account of The Macallan’s slowdown in new releases, but predicts that following its bicentennial celebrations last year, a bounce back is likely.

Following The Macallan in both categories is Campbeltown-based Springbank, which also saw large declines in value and volume in the year to September. With a 33% decline in value, it ended the period at £2,881,690 (US$3,576,004) while its volume dropped by 38% to 8,355.

In fact, all whisky brands in the top 10 by volume witnessed declines, with Glenfarclas, the ninth brand on the list, seeing the smallest decline of 6%.

Meanwhile by value, Glenfarclas saw an increase of 6%. It was joined by Port Ellen as the only other brand to see an upsurge, coming in at 8%.

Reviewing the most substantial changes in value (by %) across the database, Speyside distillery Coleburn saw an increase in value of 175% (£21,819/US$27,076), followed closely by Glenturret, with a 173% increase as a function of rare bottles selling at top-end price points.

Glenglassaugh is the other one to catch the eye in table, with a 79% increase, taking its value to £100,242 (US$124,394), the second highest value behind Glenturret at £231,619 (US$287,425).

Looking at volume increases, Speyburn had the strongest year of all the distilleries in the database with regard to volume change from the previous year, jumping from 17 to 39 – a leap of 129%.

Meanwhile at the opposite end of the spectrum, the largest declines in secondary market value are led by Lagg, with the most significant fall of 98%, dropping from £28,129 (US$34,906) to £564 (US$700).

More established brands, like GlenAllachie and Tamdhu, experienced significant value reductions, following cooling of the market. The report notes that GlenAllachie is a surprise inclusion of the table, given the strength of the brand in the primary market, and its recent rebrand.

In regards to volume declines, The Macallan, despite topping the value and volume charts, also saw the 10^th biggest drop.

Similarly to value, Lagg came out on top, falling 98% from 227 to five.

Also on this list, some of the younger brands in the Scotch whisky category feature. Organic whisky producer Nc’nean witnessed a volume drop of 67%, while Isle of Raasay, which only released its inaugural single malt in 2020, fell by 60%.

Elsewhere in the report, Noble & Co found that Speyside whiskies achieved a higher price on average that any other whisky region. Further analysis can be found here.