Well, it had to happen, didn’t it? After recently writing about how whisky tourism in Scotland (and Ireland as well) was in the midst of a boom period after enjoying several years of impressive growth, it’s safe to say that 2026 is going to be a LOT more testing for the industry.

While I like to keep things light-hearted here on the blogs and have a laugh with you all, I feel it’s also important to talk about some of the more challenging issues facing the industry, which are often swept under the carpet or spoken about behind closed doors.

Right now, many distilleries, not only in Scotland, but around the world, are faced with overproduction issues. Put simply, they’ve produced too much whisky/whiskey and are struggling to get rid of it quickly enough. They’re sitting on a metaphorical lake of whisky!

While this is far from ideal, it’s not the first time it’s happened, nor will it be the last. So, for today’s blog, I thought I’d take a more detailed look at the problems overproduction can cause, and what distilleries do when they’re sitting on too much stock.

One in Five Scotch Distilleries Facing Financial Difficulties

While the last few years may have been extremely kind to the Scotch whisky business, 2026 is shaping up to be a very bumpy year for almost 1 in 5 whisky distilleries around Scotland.

In December of 2025, a business stress report was released, and noted that 69 distilleries in Scotland were experiencing ‘significant’ or ‘critical’ financial issues. Just to pile on the misery, a further 127 distilleries across England, Ireland, and Wales, also reported facing financial difficulties.

So, what’s causing these issues? Well, industry experts from the BTG Advisory, put it down to a ‘perfect storm’ of rising production costs, increased tariffs, the threat of tariffs, lowering demand, and overproduction of whisky.

During the Covid lockdowns of 2020 – 2021, the demand for Scotch (along with other spirits) peaked. People were stuck indoors with nothing to do, and turned to their favourite tipples for a variety of different reasons. As demand increased, so too did production. Distilleries were forced to produce more whisky to keep up with the demand.

Unfortunately, since then, life has changed and so have people’s bank balances, and not for the better! With people back at work, interest rates increasing, inflation rising, energy prices rising, taxes rising, and plenty more besides, the peak demand during 2020 – 2021 just wasn’t there anymore. Suddenly, people couldn’t afford the luxury of as many bottles of their favourite whisky and demand began to fall away.

Now, with so many distilleries facing oversupply issues, this has caused prices to fall, which essentially means that they aren’t making as much money on their whisky as they were prior, all while watching a plethora of other expenses, rates, and bills steadily increasing more and more. Not only that, but with their warehouses full, they’re running out of space to store and age future batches.

As mentioned, this is not the first time it’s happened either. Back in the 1980s, what has now been dubbed the “whisky loch” resulted in the closure of dozens of different distilleries across Scotland. I’ll be covering this topic in more detail in a future post, so keep your eyes peeled for that. What I will say on that, though, is that what we’re seeing here is not believed to be on the same scale as the whisky loch and is rather a small correction. Any pauses in production are said to be strategic and are designed to nip the problem in the bud nice and early, before things do escalate.

Today a number of distilleries in Scotland, Ireland, America, and beyond, including many in Diageo’s extensive portfolios, are scaling back production and operations, or halting them entirely, to ensure that the problem doesn’t get worse. This unfortunately means things like planned expansions are shelved, and that visitor centres are closed for longer durations, particularly during quieter periods of the season.

How Do Distilleries Get Rid of Excess Whisky Stocks?

As the old saying goes ‘you can have too much of a good thing’ as evidenced here by the fact that so many distilleries are currently sitting on more whisky than they know what to do with.

Of course, ditching the whisky is not an option, (the mere thought of it sends a chill down my spine and keeps me up at night) so what do they do with this excess stock? Well, they have a number of options to choose from, some of which I’ll quickly highlight below.

Sell at a Loss

One of the easiest ways for the distilleries to get rid of excess whisky stock quickly would be to sell at a loss. This obviously, does not make sense from a business perspective and could very well be a recipe for financial disaster.

The more likely scenario would be to reduce the cost, while still remaining in profit. Sure, it means that profit margins won’t be as high as they were, but at least they’re still making a profit.

Sell to Independent Bottlers

Another option for distilleries sitting on excess stocks of whisky is for them to sell to independent bottlers, or, sell more of their whisky to independent bottlers than they did previously. That way, they’re able to sell their stock and free up their inventory, and independent bottlers are able to source quality whisky and then work their own magic on it.

Experiment with Different Blends, Cask Types, and Finishes

For distilleries with a lot of stock on their hands, having plenty of different types of whisky to choose from means that they can potentially use this to their advantage and get more creative and adventurous with their releases.

Previously, with stocks limited, it was often the more sensible option for distilleries to play it safe and create blends and use casks that they knew would work to create a delicious dram. They basically couldn’t afford to take any chances and risk creating a sub-standard expression.

With distilleries that have excess stock on their hands, they can potentially get a little more creative and adventurous, and experiment with things like different casks, different finishes, and different blends. While it wouldn’t be ideal if one of these releases didn’t live up to the hype, at least they would still have plenty of inventory left to start over.

Offer Visitor Experiences and Tastings

One of the best ways of using up excess whisky stock is to provide tastings and visitor experiences like ‘create your own blend’ or ‘bottle your own’ whisky.

This way, not only can the distilleries make money by charging for the experiences/tastings, they can also educate their visitors and help market their products. They’re also great for things like Christmas markets, whisky festivals, and food fairs because they can be used as samples so people can try before they buy.

Wait it Out

Finally, another option is to simply wait things out and potentially offer well-aged releases several decades down the line. Many of the drams produced during the whisky loch crisis in the 1980s were finally bottled and released more than two decades later in the 2000s, fetching a pretty penny in the process.

If you’d like to learn more about your favourite whiskies, or simply treat yourself to a dram or two in the process, head on over to GreatDrams.com and take a look at the diverse selection of unique whiskies we currently have in stock.

With an impressive selection of limited-edition, rare, and award-winning whisky, as well as heaps of whisky info on our blog, it’s the perfect spot for any whisky lovers out there.