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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
National
Xander Elliards

Scotch whisky success hailed as distillery numbers almost double in 10 years

File photo of First Minister John Swinney tasting whisky at the Deanston distillery (Image: PA)

THE SNP have hailed the success of the Scotch whisky industry after fresh analysis showed the number of distilling businesses in Scotland almost doubled over the past decade.

Analysis by the party of official figures from Nomis – and Office for National Statistics (ONS) service for census and labour market statistics – showed that there had been around 190 distilling businesses in Scotland in 2016. In 2025, that number was 355 – a rise of 87%.

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