On paper, 2025 looks like a quiet year for whisky. According to IWSR data, the global category grew by about +1% in volume and +2% in value. Those are the kind of numbers that rarely make headlines. But the drinks-market analysts say the totals hide a much more uneven picture, one where gains are packed into a few narrow price bands and the three best-known whisky traditions all moved fewer bottles than the year before.
The London-based research firm, which tracks beverage alcohol sales around the world, published the findings on October 29, 2026, as part of its 2026 data release. Its conclusion is blunt: premiumisation is still happening, but it no longer lifts the whole category. In most whisky sub-categories, a single tier or two is doing the growing while the rest of the shelf stalls or shrinks.
Scotch, Bourbon and Japanese Whisky All Moved Less Liquid
The most striking line in the report is about who is not growing. IWSR says the momentum in whisky now comes from Indian, Irish and "other" whiskies, while Scotch, American and Japanese whisky each lost volume in 2025.
Marten Lodewijks, IWSR Managing Director & President, put it this way: "Growth in whisky is currently being driven by Indian, Irish and other whisky, while the three highest-profile traditional sub-categories – Scotch, US and Japanese – all lost volume in 2025."
For American drinkers used to a decade of headlines about bourbon booms, Japanese allocation lists and record Scotch exports, that is a notable change in direction. The categories that defined whisky culture for a generation of collectors are not the ones adding drinkers at the global level right now.
One or Two Price Tiers Carry Each Category
IWSR's central point is that growth has become concentrated. Instead of a rising tide across every price point, each whisky style found its gains in one or two specific tiers last year:
Where the Growth Landed in 2025
For Scotch, the growth sat in the premium tier. For American whiskey, it was ultra-premium. Japanese whisky grew in the prestige and super-premium tiers. Irish whiskey found its gains at two very different points on the ladder: standard and super-premium.
Lodewijks described the pattern as the common thread running through the major styles: "The unifying theme across Scotch, US, Japanese and Irish whiskey is polarisation by price tier: we are seeing growth narrowing to specific bands within each whisky sub-category, rather than spreading across the price ladder. And in most cases that growth is concentrating at the premium end, while the mainstream and value tiers absorb the pain. Indian whisky is the notable exception."
Why "Polarisation" Matters More Than the Headline Number
A category that grows +2% in value while volume barely moves is, by definition, selling slightly pricier liquid on average. What IWSR adds is the shape behind that average. When growth clusters in one band, the brands sitting in that band can look healthy while whole portfolios a tier or two lower struggle. For American whiskey, the fact that only ultra-premium stood out suggests that the extra money in the category is concentrated among buyers reaching for the top shelf, not spread across everyday bottles.
Indian whisky is the outlier in that framing. Lodewijks singled it out as the exception to the premium-end pattern, meaning its growth is not simply a story of drinkers trading up.
Scotch: Down in Volume, Up in Value
Scotch delivered the clearest example of a split year. IWSR data shows Scotch volumes fell -2% in 2025 while value rose +2%. The research firm says some of Scotch's core markets are in structural decline, while the growth that remains is concentrated in developing markets.
Lodewijks did not soften the assessment of the established markets: "Mature markets are seeing their lowest volumes in decades as prices move further out of reach for average consumers, and recruitment of new drinkers stalls. Downtrading within the category is widespread, and even the mainstream standard tier isn't providing much of a cushion."
The Tier Breakdown
Broken out by price, premium was the only significant Scotch tier to grow worldwide in 2025, with volumes up +1%. Standard Scotch was flat. The value segment took the heaviest losses, down -9%. IWSR reads that as a sign that the pressure on Scotch is not only drinkers trading down to cheaper bottles, but real volume disappearing at the bottom of the market.
That distinction matters. Downtrading suggests consumers are still in the category but spending less per bottle. A -9% drop in the value tier, alongside a flat standard tier, suggests some drinkers at the entry level are simply buying less Scotch, or none at all.
Where Scotch Is Still Winning
The report points to several bright spots outside the traditional strongholds:
In Türkiye, Scotch volumes grew +12% in 2025, and IWSR forecasts that Scotch will overtake rakı, the country's local anise spirit, by 2029. For a spirit with deep cultural roots in Turkish drinking life, that would be a significant shift.
Ukraine posted a +23% gain in 2025, with Scotch taking share from vodka and brandy.
Venezuela grew +21%. IWSR notes the country was once the world's biggest market for 12 YO Scotch whisky and is now making a comeback after years of struggles.
India continued its steady climb, with Scotch volumes up +5% in 2025 and double-digit gains in India travel retail. Brazil, Colombia and Malaysia also returned to growth in 2025 after losing ground the year before.
The Road to New Drinkers
IWSR suggests the long-term fix for Scotch may lie in how it is served. Bringing in new, younger legal-drinking-age consumers, the firm says, may depend on making Scotch more relevant to cocktail culture rather than relying on traditional neat serves. It also points to improved distribution and easing trade barriers as openings in parts of the Balkans, the Middle East and travel retail.
For a category whose marketing has long leaned on age statements, tasting notes and the ritual of a neat pour, that is a pointed suggestion. The growth markets IWSR highlights are places where Scotch is winning share from other spirits, not from other whiskies, which hints that the category's next customers may arrive through mixed drinks before they ever reach for a Glencairn.
Irish Whiskey: Slower, but Still Growing
Irish whiskey remains in the growth column, though at a gentler pace than in its boom years. IWSR attributes the slowdown in recent years partly to softness in the on-trade (bars and restaurants) in some markets, where Irish whiskey over-indexes, and partly to one-off stocking issues at major retailers.
Its tier pattern is also unusual. Where most categories saw growth only at the top, Irish whiskey grew in both the standard and super-premium tiers. That split suggests the category is still recruiting drinkers at an accessible price point while also selling higher-end bottles, a combination none of the other big traditional styles managed in 2025.
What the Split Means for the American Whiskey Drinker
For drinkers in the United States, the IWSR picture lines up with what many have noticed on store shelves: more attention and more new releases at the top end, and less excitement in the middle. The firm's data shows American whiskey lost volume in 2025, with growth confined to ultra-premium. That is consistent with a market where the dedicated enthusiast keeps spending, while the casual buyer pulls back.
The broader lesson from IWSR's numbers is that "whisky is growing" and "whisky is premiumising" are now incomplete statements. The category is still adding value, but that value is coming from fewer price points and from different countries than the ones that drove the last boom. Indian and Irish whiskey are carrying the volume. Scotch is winning in Türkiye, Ukraine, Venezuela and India while losing ground at home and in other mature markets. And across the board, the value and mainstream tiers are, in Lodewijks' words, absorbing the pain.
IWSR notes that its analysis reflects data from its 2026 data release, with fuller category breakdowns available to its clients.
