Diageo has revealed The Singleton Distillery is producing the fastest growing single malt whisky in the world.
The Muir of Ord distillery has seen a 9% rise in sales this year.
Diageo’s president of global supply chain, Ewan Andrew, expects the single malt to continue to grow — despite already being the fourth largest in its category.
Elsewhere, Talisker retained its title as the top selling peated malt in the world for a third year in a row.
Diageo has also hinted future investment in the Highlands and Islands is on its way.
The news comes as Diageo announced an operating profit of £4.7 billion for the year-end June 30 2024, up by 8.2%.
Talisker and Singleton success
Mr Andrew said there are “many years of growth” ahead for Singleton in Muir of Ord.
He also believes the award-winning single malt will continue to close in on top-spot in its category.
Mr Andrew said: “Singleton is the fastest growing malt in the world for a reason.
“We talk about where we target different audiences, like for example, Talisker in Europe.
“For Singleton, we target everywhere.”
As for Talisker, Mr Andrew said holding on to its crown as the most sold peated malt in the world for a third year is a “big achievement”.
The distillery is situated on the shores of Loch Harport in the small village of Carbost.
Mr Andrew added: “Talisker works really well. From 2019, visitors to the distillery are up by around 200%.
“The number is now around 160,000 people each year since we invested in its expansion.
“We know its potential and in order to keep it where it is, we now operate production 24/7.”
Brora Distillery ‘close’ to bottling first whisky
Mr Andrew also confirmed three years after restarting production at the famous Brora Distillery, its revival is almost complete.
During the restoration, the distillery’s 202-year-old stillhouse was taken down and rebuilt exactly as it was when it was first built in 1819.
He said: “Brora is an iconic distillery with iconic liquid and we recreated what it was before stone by stone.
“We’re not quite ready to name a time and place for the whisky to make its way into bottles and onto shelves, but that will come in due course.
“For now, it needs to spend its time in the cask to get up to release standard.”
Earlier this year, Diageo reopened another of its “iconic” distilleries in Port Ellen Distillery on Islay after 40 years.
Diageo sales and shares drop
Despite its operating profit, Diageo suffered a 1.4% drop in sales to £15.8bn.
Mr Andrew said the group was expecting “sequential improvements” but appreciates the costs impacting consumers.
He said: “Consumers are being more cautious because higher costs have stuck around.
“People are still putting premium products in their baskets, they’re just putting less of them.”
Diageo shares closed down by 5% and are down by more than 15% in the past six months.
Conversation