The Largest Whisky Distilleries by Stated Capacity

Girvan, Midleton and North British have some of the largest stated capacity figures in the sources assembled here, although their figures cannot all be directly compared with those for the single malt sites. But the largest whisky distilleries cannot be placed in one reliable league table: published figures use different units, describe different products and sometimes refer to proposed rather than existing capacity.[1][2][3][8][9]

What stated capacity actually tells us

Capacity describes what a plant is stated to be capable of making, not what it actually produces. Throughout this comparison, the figures retain their source’s wording: litres of alcohol, litres of Scotch, unspecified litres or proof gallons.[1][2][3][4][7]

That distinction changes how the numbers should be read. Girvan’s published figure is numerically larger than Midleton’s documented existing capacity, but Girvan’s source does not identify the alcohol basis. Treating the two as directly comparable would give the appearance of precision without the supporting evidence.[1][2]

Dates matter just as much. A figure published in 2016 is a dated statement, not a fresh measurement of the plant in November 2026. Equally, a proposed expansion does not become existing capacity merely because its intended opening date has passed.[2][6][11]

The useful question is therefore not simply “Which number is biggest?” It is “What does this number measure, who supplied it, and does it describe an existing plant or a plan?” Those questions underpin the comparison below.

The largest whisky distilleries in the stated figures

This is a selection of sourced capacity statements, not a verified world ranking. The figures are grouped by production category rather than numbered, so their presentation does not imply that unlike units have been reconciled.

The qualifications are part of the figures, not optional footnotes. “Over” is not an exact total, “up to” is a ceiling, and an estimate should remain an estimate when repeated elsewhere.

Nor should the table be read as a comparison of quality. It answers a question about stated production scale, with the limits of each statement kept visible.

Grain distilleries: large numbers, different descriptions

Girvan’s 110 million litres per annum comes from a February 2016 report in The Spirits Business. It is the largest numerical figure for an existing distillery in this selection, but the report does not specify whether those litres represent pure alcohol or another basis.[2]

North British states that it became operational in September 1887 and produced 3.6 million litres of alcohol in its first full year. It now states capacity to produce over 60 million litres of alcohol annually, storage for 900,000 casks and the inclusion of its grain spirit in 10% of blended Scotch whiskies.[3]

Those statements describe three different aspects of scale. Annual capacity concerns potential production; cask storage concerns space; inclusion in blends concerns the reach of the producer’s spirit. They should not be combined into a single measure of how much whisky the distillery makes.

Why Cameronbridge needs careful wording

Diageo’s fiscal 2024 Scotch factsheet calls Cameronbridge “Scotland’s second largest grain whisky distillery”, with capacity exceeding 30 million litres of Scotch annually. That is the producer’s description used here, rather than a larger figure assembled from secondary accounts.[4]

A separate Diageo article, published in May 2022, calls Cameronbridge “Diageo’s largest distillery” and says the site also produces Smirnoff, Gordon’s and Tanqueray. The broader description covers a site making more than Scotch, whereas the factsheet’s capacity statement specifically concerns Scotch.[4][5]

There is no need to force those statements into one number. The practical lesson is to keep the product boundary attached: a whole site’s spirits production and its Scotch whisky capacity are not interchangeable descriptions.[4][5]

Midleton: existing capacity versus proposed expansion

In its May 2024 licence review document, Midleton’s operator says an expansion completed in 2013 increased capacity to 70 million litres of alcohol per annum. It describes a further proposed expansion intended to increase capacity across the expanded site to 133 million litres per annum.[1]

For this comparison, 70 million is the capacity stated in the May 2024 document, while 133 million is the proposed capacity. The expansion’s progress by November 2026 is not reliably established, so the proposed figure cannot be presented as achieved.[1]

The same document describes production running 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for an average of 49 weeks a year. That operating pattern gives useful context for the scale of the site, but it is not an annual output figure.[1]

It would therefore be misleading to replace the documented capacity with a calculation based on operating weeks. The source already supplies the capacity statement; what it does not supply here is a verified amount actually produced during a particular year.

Single malt sites: substantial, but a separate comparison

According to The Northern Scot in March 2024, The Glenlivet’s new stillhouse marked its 200th anniversary, added seven pairs of stills and brought the total to 28. The report states capacity of 21 million litres per year but does not specify the alcohol basis.[8]

For The Macallan, Whisky Advocate reported an estimated capacity of 15 million litres of pure alcohol annually in June 2018. That description is more explicit about units, but the estimate is not attributed to Edrington.[9]

These are useful figures, provided their different evidential strengths remain visible. The Glenlivet number is a local press statement with an unspecified litre basis; The Macallan number is a trade estimate expressed in pure alcohol.[8][9]

The reported figures for these malt sites are numerically below the stated figures or lower bounds for Girvan, Midleton and North British, but their litre bases are not all the same. A comparison centred only on single malt names would omit other large capacity statements in the supplied record.[1][2][3][8][9]

Stills and capacity also belong in separate columns. The Glenlivet’s 28 stills describe equipment count; its 21 million litres describe stated annual capability. Neither figure should silently stand in for the other.[8]

American proof gallons and the Canadian proposal

Diageo’s September 2021 statement gives its Lebanon, Kentucky distillery capacity as up to 10 million proof gallons annually. Leaving that figure in proof gallons is more faithful to the source than relabelling it as ordinary gallons or litres.[7]

A separate Diageo announcement supplies a useful comparison: it equates 20 million LAA, meaning litres of absolute alcohol, with 10.5 million proof gallons. Using that published equivalence, Lebanon’s stated capacity is a little under 20 million LAA, not 10 million litres.[6][7]

Capacity still does not establish production. A March 2025 trade report said Diageo was temporarily pausing distilling and barrel filling at its Kentucky whiskey facility until June. That report demonstrates the distinction without establishing when production subsequently resumed.[10]

Why the Ontario figure is excluded

The proposed Crown Royal distillery in St Clair Township, Ontario, carried a stated capacity of up to 20 million LAA in Diageo’s March 2022 announcement. It was a planned capacity, accompanied by an expectation that the site would operate in 2025.[6]

A later report quotes Diageo’s statement of 20 November 2024 that development would be paused. The 20 million LAA figure therefore belongs to an unbuilt proposal, not to a completed distillery in the capacity table.[6][11]

How to read the next capacity claim

Before repeating a “largest distillery” claim, check the following:

1. Keep the unit intact. Litres of alcohol, litres of Scotch and unspecified litres are not automatically equivalent.[1][2][4]
2. Keep the qualifier. North British says “over”; Lebanon says “up to”; The Macallan figure is an estimate.[3][7][9]
3. Identify the production boundary. Cameronbridge’s Scotch capacity is narrower than a description covering all spirits made at the site.[4][5]
4. Separate plans from plants. Midleton’s proposed 133 million litres and Ontario’s planned 20 million LAA must not replace documented existing capacity.[1][6][11]
5. Ask for output separately. A capacity announcement does not establish how much a distillery produced in a given year.[1][7][10]

A trustworthy record keeps those distinctions even when they prevent a tidy ranking. For other measures of industry scale, see whisky by the numbers; for a different kind of record claim, see the evidence behind the oldest whisky distilleries.

Where to go next

• Whisky by the Numbers: Distilleries and Production: place capacity statements alongside other measures of industry scale.
• The Oldest Whisky Distilleries: Claims and Evidence: see why another apparent record depends on the test being applied.
• Whisky Records: Largest Bottles and Other Verified Firsts: explore records that need clearly defined categories and evidence.

Sources

1. Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard. IDL Midleton Distillery Expansion, Non-Technical Summary, Attachment 1-2, IE0313231-22-RP-0025, Issue B, 13 May 2024. Operator’s document on the Environmental Protection Agency licence register. https://epawebapp.epa.ie/licences/lic_eDMS/090151b2808d6083.pdf
2. The Spirits Business, Amy Hopkins. Girvan Distillery decommissions No.1 Apps, 18 February 2016. https://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/?p=65106
3. The North British Distillery Company. Home, undated producer website, checked November 2026. https://thenorthbritish.co.uk/
4. Diageo. Scotch Factsheet, fiscal 2024. https://www.diageo.com/~/media/Files/D/Diageo-V2/Diageo-Corp/out-brand/scotch-whisky/diageo-scotch-factsheet-2024.pdf
5. Diageo. Diageo’s largest distillery has received world-first recognition for Water Stewardship, 31 May 2022. https://www.diageo.com/en/news-and-media/stories/2022/diageo-s-largest-distillery-has-received-world-first-recognition-for-water-stewardship
6. Diageo. Diageo Announces Plans to Build Carbon Neutral Crown Royal Distillery in Canada, press release, 9 March 2022. https://www.diageo.com/en/news-and-media/press-releases/2022/diageo-announces-plans-to-build-carbon-neutral-crown-royal-distillery-in-canada
7. Diageo. Diageo opens its first carbon neutral whiskey distillery in North America, 28 September 2021. https://www.diageo.com/en/news-and-media/stories/2021/diageo-opens-its-first-carbon-neutral-whiskey-distillery-in-north-america
8. The Northern Scot. A sneak peek into Glenlivet’s brand new stillhouse, 29 March 2024. https://www.northern-scot.co.uk/news/a-sneak-peek-into-glenlivet-s-brand-new-stillhouse-346537/
9. Whisky Advocate. More Macallan Is Coming, and It’s Going to Look a Little Different, 4 June 2018. https://whiskyadvocate.com/more-macallan-coming-new-distillery
10. Just Drinks. Diageo pauses production at Kentucky whiskey facility, 5 March 2025. https://www.just-drinks.com/news/diageo-pauses-production-at-kentucky-whiskey-facility
11. The Whiskey Wash. Why Crown Royal Fans Don’t Need to Worry About Diageo’s Distillery Pause, 12 December 2024, quoting Diageo’s statement of 20 November 2024. https://thewhiskeywash.com/canadian-whiskey/why-crown-royal-fans-dont-need-to-worry-about-diageos-distillery-pause/

This desk research comparison uses the supplied verified fact sheet, preserving its source wording, dates and distinctions between existing capacity, estimates and proposals.

Last checked: November 2026