Teeling Distillery has been named the most popular distillery in the UK and Ireland for the second consecutive year, holding onto first place in The Cask Connoisseur’s 2026 distillery rankings.
The annual study compared 295 distilleries across the UK and Ireland, analysing customer ratings, visitor reviews and social media audiences to identify the distilleries generating the greatest level of interest online.
Teeling finished comfortably at the top of the ranking with 2,679.5 points, ahead of Glenfiddich Distillery in second place and Lindores Abbey Distillery in third.
The 10 Most Popular Distilleries for 2026
| 2026 rank | Distillery | Location | 2025 rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Teeling Distillery | Dublin, Republic of Ireland | 1 |
| 2 | Glenfiddich Distillery | Dufftown, Scotland | 6 |
| 3 | Lindores Abbey Distillery | Newburgh, Scotland | 5 |
| 4 | Kilchoman Distillery | Islay, Scotland | 3 |
| 5 | Eden Mill Distillery | St Andrews, Scotland | 23 |
| 6 | Cotswolds Distillery | Shipston-on-Stour, England | 2 |
| 7 | Isle of Raasay Distillery | Isle of Raasay, Scotland | 10 |
| 8 | Dingle Distillery | Dingle, Republic of Ireland | 9 |
| 9 | Isle of Harris Distillery | Tarbert, Scotland | 32 |
| 10 | Micil Distillery | Galway, Republic of Ireland | 24 |
Why Teeling Remains Number One
Teeling’s position reflects a particularly strong combination of visitor feedback and online reach.
The Dublin distillery holds a 4.8 Google rating from more than 4,100 reviews, alongside a 4.8 Tripadvisor rating from more than 5,600 reviews. This gives Teeling one of the largest bodies of visitor feedback included in the study, while maintaining consistently high ratings.
Its social media presence also stretches across several platforms. At the time of the research, Teeling had approximately 124,100 TikTok followers, 66,800 YouTube subscribers, 60,000 Facebook followers and almost 60,000 Instagram followers.
Rather than relying on one particularly large platform, the distillery performs strongly across almost every category included in the index.
Glenfiddich Climbs into Second Place
Glenfiddich rose four positions, moving from sixth place in 2025 to second in 2026.
The Speyside distillery has one of the largest social media audiences in the study, including approximately 1.3 million Facebook followers and more than 346,000 Instagram followers.
Its visitor figures remain strong too, with more than 1,000 Google reviews and over 2,000 Tripadvisor reviews. This combination of global brand recognition, social reach and established visitor interest helped Glenfiddich achieve a total score of 2,537.5.
Lindores Abbey also continued its climb, moving from fifth to third. The distillery achieved ratings of 4.9 on both Google and Tripadvisor, supported by growing audiences across TikTok, LinkedIn and Instagram.
Eden Mill and Isle of Harris Enter the Top 10
Two of the most noticeable changes can be found in fifth and ninth place.
Eden Mill climbed 18 positions, rising from 23rd to fifth. Its perfect 5.0 Google rating, strong Tripadvisor performance and substantial social media following helped it become one of the highest-ranked distilleries in Scotland.
The Isle of Harris Distillery made an even larger jump, climbing 23 places from 32nd to ninth. Its audience includes more than 50,000 followers on both Instagram and Facebook, alongside strong visitor ratings on Google and Tripadvisor.
Micil Distillery also entered the top 10 after climbing 14 places. The Galway distillery holds perfect 5.0 ratings on both Google and Tripadvisor, helping it rise from 24th to tenth.
Scotland Dominates the Top of the Ranking
Scottish distilleries occupy six of the top 10 positions, including Glenfiddich, Lindores Abbey, Kilchoman, Eden Mill, Isle of Raasay and Isle of Harris.
The Republic of Ireland claims three positions, with Teeling, Dingle and Micil all appearing in the top 10.
Cotswolds Distillery is the highest-ranked English distillery. Despite falling four places from second to sixth, it remains one of the strongest performers for visitor feedback, holding ratings of 4.9 on both Google and Tripadvisor.
Elsewhere, Copeland Distillery is the highest-ranked Northern Irish distillery in 18th place, while Penderyn is the leading Welsh distillery in 24th.
The Biggest Climbers in 2026
Some of the most dramatic changes occurred further down the table.
Ardgowan Distillery recorded the largest rise, climbing 125 places from 196th to 71st. Henstone Distillery rose 96 places to joint 73rd, while Spirit of Manchester Distillery climbed 77 places to reach 32nd.
Other notable increases included:
- Skellig Six18 Distillery, up 76 places to 53rd
- Wayward Irish Spirits, up 75 places to 143rd
- Burren Distillers, up 70 places to 149th
- Kinsale Spirits Co, up 68 places to 114th
- Torabhaig Distillery, up 67 places to 64th
- Nc’nean Distillery, up 65 places to 16th
- Port of Leith Distillery, up 61 places to 43rd
Nc’nean’s rise is particularly notable because it moved into the top 20. The distillery combines excellent visitor ratings with a growing presence across Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok and other social platforms.
Some Established Names Lose Ground
Several well-known distilleries moved down the ranking this year.
Bruichladdich fell from fourth to 15th, while Springbank moved from 13th to 107th. Glenmorangie dropped from 29th to 73rd, and Holyrood fell from 19th to 77th.
These movements should not be interpreted as a judgement on the quality of the whisky being produced. The ranking measures public ratings, review volumes and digital audiences. A distillery can therefore move down because competitors have grown their audiences, attracted more reviews or become more active across additional platforms.
Distilleries that limit visitor access or maintain a smaller official social media presence may also rank below larger tourism destinations and consumer-facing brands.
How the Distilleries Were Ranked
The 2026 index examines publicly available figures across 12 indicators:
- Google rating
- Number of Google reviews
- Tripadvisor rating
- Number of Tripadvisor reviews
- Instagram followers
- Instagram hashtag use
- Facebook followers
- X, formerly Twitter, followers
- YouTube subscribers
- TikTok followers
- TikTok hashtag use
- LinkedIn followers
Each distillery was ranked for every indicator, with points awarded according to its position. These points were then combined to produce an overall score out of 3,564.
The result offers a broad picture of each distillery’s online popularity, visitor reputation and social media reach. It is not intended to rank the quality of the whisky, gin or other spirits being produced.
Online audiences and review totals continually change, so the index represents a snapshot of the information available when the research was completed.
A Broader View of Distillery Popularity
The 2026 ranking demonstrates that traditional reputation is only one part of a modern distillery’s profile.
Established names such as Glenfiddich continue to attract enormous global audiences, but smaller and newer distilleries are increasingly challenging them through highly rated visitor experiences and active digital communities.
Teeling remains the clearest example of a distillery successfully combining all three. Its strong visitor ratings, large review volumes and presence across several social platforms have allowed it to retain the top position for another year.
With Eden Mill, Isle of Harris, Micil and Nc’nean all making significant gains, the battle for the top 10 could look very different again in 2027.
