Whisky Advocate's 2024 Year in Review

It’s no secret that 2024 was a challenging year in various quarters of the whisky world. Still, through it all, the scene continued to churn with dynamic and exciting change—new distillery and visitor center openings, master distillers taking on new roles, and an increasingly creative surge of sought-after releases. Here's our look at the year in whisky.

Not Used to This

After declining in 2023 for the first time in memory, total American whiskey sales were projected to decrease again this year, according to our research arm Impact Databank. Within that big picture, the leading higher-end American whiskeys generally still saw healthy sales, while scotch faced a slightly different scenario. In late December, UK trade group the Food and Drinks Federation (FDF) reported that whisky export sales (mostly scotch) fell by 36.4% by value in the first three quarters of 2024. But the most notable headwinds came in the American craft space, where an increasingly choosy customer became less adventurous and sales slowed. MGP, which provides much of the whisky for smaller players through its Distilling Solutions arm, saw consolidated sales drop by 24% in its third quarter, a performance that included a 36% decline in that division. The American Craft Spirits Association (ACSA) said its members saw sales decline by 3.6% last year, marking the first time in the movement's history that it has experienced a downturn. In all of the above cases, it should be noted that whisky sales remain well above their levels of a decade ago, but with production having risen exponentially over the past decade, the situation has raised worries about oversupply.

Ultra-Age is the Rage

Whether it's a matter of oversupply, rebalanced supply, or other reasons, whisky lovers began to benefit from higher age statements and greater availability for many products. The year featured numerous releases carrying age statements that hadn't often been seen in recent times. Knob Creek came out with a 10 year old rye, following up on an 18 year old Knob Creek bourbon released in 2022. Sibling label Jim Beam put a 7 year age statement on its Jim Beam Black label, while Old Grand-Dad released a 16 year old, a limited issue that was the oldest expression from the brand in modern times. Other whiskey makers also released some of their oldest expressions ever: Widow Jane Distillery in Brooklyn, New York unveiled the 20 year old Black Opal, Barrell Craft Spirits released a 20 year old bourbon, Bib & Tucker offered a 15 year old bourbon, and Kentucky independent bottler 15 Stars continued with a host of ultra-aged American whiskeys. In the craft space, Woodinville Whiskey in Washington launched an 8 year old, the oldest release yet from its distillery. In scotch, meanwhile, Glenmorangie reintroduced its Nectar d’Or expression, which previously carried a 14 year old age statement, as a 16 year old, The Nectar, with more complex cask finishing.

Moving On, Moving In

John Glaser, creator and founder of scotch whisky independent bottler Compass Box, stepped down in the spring after 25 years at the helm. Lisa Wicker, formerly of Brooklyn-based Widow Jane, took on a new role at Garrard County Distilling Co. in Kentucky. Chip Tate, founder of Balcones Distillery who famously was fired by fellow investors in an acrimonious dispute, signed on to oversee spirits production at California vintner Bill Foley’s new spirits arm. John Campbell, formerly of Laphroaig Distillery and Lowlands scotch whisky maker Lochlea Distillery, pulled up stakes and moved to California to make whisky at Sespe Creek Distillery. Another Laphroaig alum, Barry McCaffer, went even further afield, moving to South Korea to make single malt whisky at the new Lighthill Brewery & Distillery, which is still under construction. Matt Hofmann, co-founder and builder of Seattle’s Westland Distillery, took on a new role heading up spirits production at the Native American-run Talking Cedar Distillery and Brewery, about 70 miles south of Westland's Seattle home base. Wes Henderson, co-founder of Angel’s Envy, launched a new brand called True Story, along with plans for a major new distillery.

Openings and Reopenings

On Islay, the lights came back on at Port Ellen Distillery and the stills were fired up in March, after being shuttered for more than 40 years. In the Highlands, Dallas Dhu announced it will make whisky again, starting next year. Another Highlands whisky maker, Cabrach Distillery, began production in October after a slight delay. The much beloved Rosebank Distillery, which shuttered in 1993 and restarted production in 2023, opened for tours in the spring of this year. In Nevada, the first whiskeys from Bill Foley’s Minden Mill Distillery launched in October, featuring aged liquid that was already resting in the warehouse when Foley bought Minden Mill in 2023. Meanwhile, California rapid-aging whiskey maker Bespoken Spirits announced plans to decamp from its Silicon Valley base and relocate to Lexington, Kentucky. Whiskey House of Kentucky, a new custom distilling facility in Elizabethtown founded by former Bardstown Bourbon executives David Mandell, John Hargrove, and Daniel Linde, began production in July. And while not a new opening per se, in October Bardstown Bourbon Company unveiled its biggest expansion yet. When Bardstown began producing in 2017 its annual capacity was 25,000 barrels. It’s now at an annual capacity of 289,000 barrels.

Closings, at Least For Now

In Ireland, Waterford Distillery went into receivership in late November after failing to secure lines of credit to keep the lights on. This terroir-focused Irish distiller bottled numerous expressions of local grains and locales, taking an artisanal (and cost-heavy) approach that bankers hate and whiskey fans love. The founder, Mark Reynier, said he hopes to assemble a new team of investors to get the place up and running in January. And in Kentucky, the big plans for Kentucky Owl’s new distillery campus, Kentucky Owl Park, were put on hold as parent company Stoli USA declared bankruptcy. On a brighter note, Sweden's Mackmyra Distillery went bankrupt in August but reopened in October after finding a new investor. In craft, the ACSA reported a "significant number of craft distillery closures" in 2024, though it add the number of active craft distillers in the U.S. rose by 11.5% to reach a total of 3,069 producers.

Happy Anniversaries

Wild Turkey celebrated Jimmy Russell’s 70^th year in whiskey, and in May it opened a newly revamped visitor center in his honor, the Jimmy Russell Wild Turkey Experience. James B. Beam Distilling Co. toasted its 90^th anniversary of bourbon making in Clermont by adding to its visitor experience. Elsewhere, Nikka Whisky celebrated its 90^th anniversary, toasting the milestone with the release of Nikka Nine Decades, a blend of whiskies from every decade since the 1940s. Fuji released a limited edition bottling blended by Jota Tanaka in honor of the distillery's 50^th anniversary. In craft whiskey, Denver-based Stranahan's and Portland, Oregon's Westward Whiskey both celebrated 20th birthdays, the latter marking the occasion with the second edition of its Milestone special release.

Notable Newbies, and an Oldie

Ardnahoe, the Islay distillery that filled its first cask to great excitement back in 2018, released its very first bottling in the spring. Lagg Distillery, sister distillery to the acclaimed Lochranza Distillery on the north end of Arran—both are owned by Arran Distillers—made its U.S. debut in June. From Japan, Kanosuke Distillery (pictured above) launched its core three whiskies in the U.S. in late summer, which became available in New York and California. In Ireland, inaugural releases came from young distillers Echlinville, Wild Atlantic, Micil, Killowen, and Blackwater, among others, albeit mostly in very small amounts and still available only in Ireland. At the opposite end of the age spectrum, over the summer Macallan introduced the world’s oldest whisky, an 84 year old vintage expression that went into the cask in 1940, topping an 80 year old Macallan released by Gordon & Macphail in 2021.

Changing Hands

In September, William Grant & Sons purchased the Famous Grouse and Naked Malt scotch whisky blends from Edrington for an undisclosed price. According to Impact Databank, the Famous Grouse is the eighth-largest blended scotch brand globally at 2.78 million 9-liter cases, including about 112,000 cases in the U.S. It joins the Grant’s brand—with global volume of 4.38 million cases—in William Grant’s blended stable. Blended malt label Naked Malt has global volume of 53,000 cases. In California, Redwood Empire distillery's owner Purple Brands acquired Savage & Cooke, the spirits operations of California vintner Dave Phinney. Those assets mainly include the Savage & Cooke distillery (warehouse pictured above) on California's Mare Island.

Cue the Musicians

Beyonce joined the whisky fabric in August with the launch of Sir Davis, an MGP-sourced rye with a mashbill of 51% rye and 49% malted barley, overseen by Dr. Bill Lumsden of Ardbeg and Glenmorangie pedigree. Country music star Dierks Bentley came out with Row 94, a bourbon made at Green River Distillery in Kentucky. Country musician Chris Stapleton released Traveller whiskey in partnership with Buffalo Trace Distillery. Thus far the whisky world hasn’t quite experienced the influx of celebrity brands seen in the tequila space, where the stars include George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson, Michael Jordan, Sammy Hagar, Kevin Hart, and George Strait, among many more.

Victory at Last for American Single Malt

American single malt makers got an early Christmas present from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), as at long last the federal regulatory agency ruled to officially establish and define American single malt as a category. The American single malt space includes some of the country's most dynamic craft whiskey makers, including Virginia Distillery Co. (owners Gareth and Maggie Moore pictured above), who've long sought a category designation as a means of formally defining its whiskey and enhancing the product's meaning to whisky lovers. Time and again in the drinks world over the years, whether for champagne in France, tequila in Mexico, or bourbon in the United States, the creation of an official category has helped the product enormously.

Whisky Advocate's Top 20 Whiskies of the Year

In early December, the Whisky Advocate tasting panel selected Laphroaig Elements 2.0 as the 2024 Whisky of the Year. Elsewhere in the Top 20 rankings, the honorees included Bruichladdich 18 year old, Booker's Springfield Batch, Still Austin 5 year old Bottled in Bond Red Corn, Ardbeg Spectacular, Bernheim Original Barrel Proof, and Bardstown Bourbon Co. Collaborative Series Amrut.