UK Whisky Duty 2027: 43p More Excise on a 40% Bottle, More for Cask Strength
WHISKY CLAN RESEARCH | 10 November 2026 | By Filip Janczak | Official rates checked 10 November 2026
A standard 70cl bottle of whisky at 40% alcohol by volume faces an extra 43.4p of UK Alcohol Duty under rates scheduled for 1 February 2027. At 60% ABV, the calculated extra excise is 65.1p. These are original Whisky Clan calculations based on the government's new tax table, not observed or predicted shop-price changes.
The change is simple to state but easy to misrepresent. Whisky is taxed according to the volume of pure alcohol, which means the cash increase differs by both strength and bottle size. We modelled nine common or illustrative formats from the official rates and provide the data, worked formula, charts and press resources below.
Key findings
• The published rate for spirits above 22% ABV rises from £33.99 to £35.54 per litre of pure alcohol from 1 February 2027, a £1.55 or approximately 4.56% increase.
• Additional excise on a 70cl bottle is 43.4p at 40% ABV, 46.7p at 43%, 49.9p at 46%, 54.3p at 50% and 65.1p at 60%.
• The modelled duty on a 70cl 40% bottle goes from £9.5172 to £9.9512 before VAT or commercial price decisions. VAT-inclusive or shop-price changes are not measured here.
• A litre at 40% ABV incurs 62p of extra excise; 25ml at 40% represents 1.55p of modelled duty change, not a bar-price prediction.
• This is a controlled calculation of announced tax rates, not a survey of retailer prices, sales or investment.
In this research
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A prompt for the current article asks for its evidence, calculation, date and important caveats, rather than inventing price predictions.
What the official rates actually change
HM Treasury's Budget 2026 Annex A, updated on 5 November, publishes the Alcohol Duty schedule for products above 22% ABV [1]. The row relevant to ordinary Scotch, bourbon and most other whiskies shows £33.99 per litre of pure alcohol from 1 February 2026 to 31 January 2027 and £35.54 from 1 February 2027. The absolute difference is £1.55 per pure-alcohol litre.
A 70cl 40% whisky contains 0.70 × 0.40 = 0.28 litres of pure alcohol. Multiplying by the old rate gives £9.5172 of duty and by the new rate £9.9512. Subtract the two without rounding and the cash change is 43.4p. A 60% whisky at the same bottle size contains 0.42 litres of pure alcohol and the increase becomes 65.1p.
The proportionate change in the applicable statutory rate is about 4.56%. That is not a percentage prediction for the shelf price because the final selling price contains many components beyond excise. Nor does this calculation say anything about whether a particular distillery, brand or retailer has decided to change its prices.
Figure 1. The official rates applied to five illustrative 70cl whisky strengths. At the same volume, a higher ABV means more pure alcohol and more duty.
Source: HM Treasury, Budget 2026 Annex A, updated 5 November 2026 [1]. Analysis and chart: Whisky Clan.
Compare the numbers in a table
The figures below are calculations from the Treasury's two rate schedules. The published display columns are rounded to two decimal places for money and one decimal place for the extra duty. The downloadable CSV keeps greater precision, including the values used in the plotted charts.
70CL ABV | 2026 EXCISE | 2027 EXCISE | ADDITIONAL |
|---|---|---|---|
40% | £9.52 | £9.95 | 43.4p |
43% | £10.23 | £10.70 | 46.7p |
46% | £10.94 | £11.44 | 49.9p |
50% | £11.90 | £12.44 | 54.3p |
60% | £14.28 | £14.93 | 65.1p |
A separate 1-litre 40% format has 0.40 litres of pure alcohol and therefore gains 62p of calculated excise. A 25ml 40% measure corresponds to 0.01 litres pure alcohol and just 1.55p of additional excise. These comparisons illustrate scale, but a pub's selling price for a measure also reflects its overheads, tax position and pricing decisions.
Figure 2. The extra excise in pence per 70cl whisky bottle, shown from a zero baseline. These are not observed changes in consumer prices.
Source: HM Treasury Budget 2026 Annex A [1]. Calculations and chart: Whisky Clan.
Does this mean retail whisky will cost 43p more?
Not necessarily. The rate table specifies duty charged by reference to litres of pure alcohol. Retail shelf prices also incorporate the commercial cost of the spirit, packaging, supply chain, margins and VAT. Stock already duty-paid, promotions and pricing policies can also influence the timing of any change a shopper sees.
If a 43.4p excise change were fully passed through to a 20% VAT-rated sale with no other changes, the arithmetic would be about 52.1p including VAT. That is merely a conditional illustration; it is not evidence that a retailer will increase its shelf price by 52p, 43p or any other specified amount. Our research deliberately avoids turning a tax liability into a retail price forecast.
The Scotch Whisky Association criticised the October 2026 Budget decision and expressed concern about industry competitiveness [4]. That is an identifiable industry position, not measured evidence of future employment, production or sales. The rates we analyse are government figures, and our added value is the independently reproducible comparison for different whisky strengths and package sizes.
For readers comparing bottles next year, check both volume and ABV before attributing any price gap to duty. For example, cask-strength malt at 60% ABV faces more duty per litre of whisky than a 40% expression, regardless of brand prestige or flavour. Whisky Clan's earlier research comparing Scottish distillery tour prices addresses a different consumer cost, visitor experiences, and should not be confused with bottle tax.
Method, limitations and what to reproduce
This is a modelled set of nine hypothetical bottle or serve scenarios, not a representative market survey. The primary data are the above-22%-ABV duty rates in HM Treasury's Budget 2026 Annex A, updated 5 November 2026 and verified for this article on 10 November [1]. The periods being compared are 1 February 2026–31 January 2027 and 1 February 2027–31 January 2028. They are statutory schedules, not measured prices or realised tax receipts.
For each scenario calculate pure alcohol in litres as (bottle volume in ml ÷ 1,000) multiplied by (ABV as a percentage ÷ 100). Then calculate each year's duty as pure-alcohol litres multiplied by its rate in pounds. Subtract the earlier amount from the later one at full precision and multiply by 100 for the increase in pence. The relative rate change is (35.54 − 33.99) ÷ 33.99 × 100 ≈ 4.56%.
The five 70cl examples use 40%, 43%, 46%, 50% and 60% ABV, supplemented in the CSV by 1-litre bottles at 40% and 46% and 25ml measures at 40% and 46%. They were selected as transparent size-and-strength examples, not because Whisky Clan has checked retailer listings, market shares or purchases for each. No customer survey, regression or statistical inference is involved.
The comparison excludes actual VAT paid by individual firms, retail and trade margins, discounts, consumption changes, inventory timing, distillery profitability, export transactions and any special-case tax administration. It does not establish the price of Scotch in other countries, nor prove a causal effect of the duty rate on whisky employment or investment.
The model's full-precision values and source register are available for checking. Article and chart labels are rounded for reading, but all calculations use the original £33.99 and £35.54 rates. Material corrections or revisions to the Treasury schedule will be dated if made.
Resources for journalists
Whisky Clan's original diagrams may be reproduced in editorial reporting with clear attribution to Whisky Clan, a link to this research and acknowledgement of the original HM Treasury rate table. The public resources contain differentiated concise press releases, the published observations, methodology and credits. Reuse rights for third-party government data and any other organisations' content remain subject to their own terms.
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Frequently asked questions
When does the new duty rate begin?
The £35.54-per-litre-of-pure-alcohol rate for spirits above 22% ABV is scheduled to apply from 1 February 2027. The comparison rate for 2026–27 is £33.99 [1].
How much more duty applies to a 70cl bottle at 40%?
43.4p. A 70cl whisky at 40% contains 0.28 litres of pure alcohol. Multiply that by the £1.55-per-litre duty-rate increase to get £0.434.
Why does cask-strength whisky face a larger change?
At the same 70cl volume a 60% whisky contains 0.42 litres of pure alcohol compared with 0.28 litres at 40%. The corresponding increases are 65.1p and 43.4p.
Will whisky shop prices rise by those exact amounts?
Not necessarily. This research calculates excise only. VAT, costs, margins, promotions and stock decisions all affect actual retail prices.
Is 4.56% a forecast for whisky inflation or sales?
No. It is solely the proportional increase in the applicable duty rate, calculated as £1.55 divided by £33.99.
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Sources, images and correction note
Open the official sources, graphics credit and updates
Research source check 10 November 2026. The tax figures originate in the published government schedule, not a retailer survey.
[1] HM Treasury Budget 2026 Annex A, updated 5 November 2026
[2] HMRC: Work out how much Alcohol Duty to pay
[3] HMRC: VAT on goods and services
[4] Scotch Whisky Association: reaction to the Budget, 28 October 2026
The cover and charts are original Whisky Clan graphic illustrations, not photographs of a specific bottle or distillery. Government source material is Crown copyright under the applicable Open Government Licence. We do not claim ownership of official rates or of others' text.
Correction note, 10 November 2026: Published rates are scheduled future values, not measured February 2027 retail prices. We will date any substantive correction.
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