islay whisky
Worth a lookShows low returns (0.4%), but strong incumbent ratings (4.8★) keeps it on the watch list.
Returns
Incredible0.4%return rate — above 5% kills the launch gate
Avg price
Incredible£36.20avg listing price — sweet spot $15–$100
Price range
Incredible£20.90–£61.42cheapest to priciest tracked listing — scored on the share inside $15–$100
Market size
Great£1.1M£1.1M/yr · 500K searches
Conversion
Good6.1%search→purchase rate — share of searches ending in a sale
Competition
Good54%top-5 click share — leaders hold, buyers still browse
Brand share
Okay87%top-5 brand share — brands hold most of the demand
Review moat
Okay3,580.26avg incumbent reviews — the moat a new listing must climb
Growth
Bad-7.5%90-day search growth — must beat 0% to launch
Quality gap
Bad4.8★avg incumbent rating — lower means beatable quality
According to Flapen's Amazon United Kingdom niche tracking, islay whisky is a £1.1M/yr Amazon United Kingdom market (500K searches/yr). The top 5 brands hold 87% of demand. Demand peaks in Nov–Dec. Verdict: Worth a look — 55/100.
Data updated Jul 23, 2026 · scored weekly · How we score niches
islay whisky market data
- Units sold / yr
- 30K–40K
- avg 1,250–1,500/product
- Revenue / yr
- £1.1M–£1.4M
- units × avg price
- Conversion rate
- 6.1%
- Avg BSR
- #146
- Page quality
- 0%
- Prime
- 100%
- Sponsored
- 78%
- Out of stock
- 0.0%
- Avg brand age
- 91 months
- Avg seller age
- 176 days
Competition & brand share
The top 5 products take 54% of clicks — established leaders, but buyers still shop beyond them.Brands
9 falling
Sellers
58
Top-5 brand share
87%
Top 20: 100%
Top-5 click share
54%
Top 20: 96%
Open market
9%
- Laphroaig38%
- Ardbeg23%
- Bunnahabhain17%
- Bruichladdich5%
- Port Charlotte5%
- Smokehead4%
- Open — no brand owns it (3 brands, 9%)
Demand & seasonality
Weekly Amazon search volume, last 68 weeks — -7.5% search growth over the last 90 days.Peak months: Nov, Dec · busiest ÷ quietest = 3.0×
Top islay whisky search terms
- laphroaig whisky79K/yr
- ardbeg54K/yr
- bunnahabhain whisky46K/yr
- islay whisky45K/yr
- laphroaig30K/yr
- laphroaig 10 year old29K/yr
- bruichladdich whisky20K/yr
- ardbeg 1020K/yr
- caol ila19K/yr
- smokehead whisky16K/yr
Top islay whisky products on Amazon
Each bubble is one product — market share against review moat; bubble size tracks estimated sales, color grades how beatable the incumbent looks.
All 23 tracked products in this niche — three views at once, no toggling.
Top sellers
by 90-day click share
Laphroaig 10 YO Single Malt Whisky 70cl
Laphroaig£24.154.8★8,774 rev
Ardbeg Ten Years Old Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky Peaty & Smokey Gift Box 70cl Ideal Gift for Fathers Day
Ardbeg£29.944.8★1,345 rev
Laphroaig Oak Select | Scotch | Islay | Single Malt Peated Whisky | Smoky Salty & Sweet | 40% ABV | 70cl (Packaging may vary)
Laphroaig£20.904.7★6,010 rev
Bunnahabhain Stiuireadair Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky 70cl | 46.3% vol | Fruity Nutty Spicey Unpeated Islay Whisky | Islay Single Malt Whisky
Bunnahabhain£22.424.7★5,771 rev
Bunnahabhain 12 Year Old Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky 70cl | 46.3% ABV | Nutty Sweet Unpeated Islay Whisky | Islay Single Malt Whisky
Bunnahabhain£32.234.8★6,364 rev
Newest
by launch date
Laphroaig 10 Years Old Sherry Oak Finish | Single Malt Peated Scotch Whisky | Islay | Maple Syrup and Dark Chocolate | Bourbon and Oloroso Sherry Oak Cask Matured | 48 Percent ABV | 70 cl
Laphroaig£43.9894 rev
Laphroaig 10 Years Old Cask Strength Batch 16 | Scotch | Islay | Single Malt Peated Whisky | Smoky Salty and Sweet | Cask Strength | 58.5% ABV | 70cl
Laphroaig£45.4448 rev
Ardbeg Wee Beastie Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky Peaty & Smokey 70cl Ideal Gift for Fathers Day
Ardbeg£25.361,495 rev
Port Charlotte 10 Year Old Heavily Peated Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky 70cl
Port Charlotte£38.261,932 rev
Ardbeg 10 Year Old - Warehouse Pack
Ardbeg£33.934 rev
Trending
90-day click momentum
Bruichladdich The Classic Laddie 10 Unpeated Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky 70cl
Bruichladdich£28.564.8★
Smokehead Islay Peated Single Malt Scotch Whisky | Gift Box Included | Heavily Peated | Bonfire Smoke Lemon Spice & Honey | Smoky Islay Malt | 70cl | 40% ABV | Whisky Gift for Fathers Day
Smokehead£22.134.6★
Ardbeg 10 Year Old - Warehouse Pack
Ardbeg£33.935.0★
Caol Ila 12 Year Old Single Malt Whisky | 43% vol | 70cl | Scotch Whisky | Peaty Whisky from Islay | Distinct Smokiness | Fresh | Sweetly Fruity & Smooth-Bodied
CAOL ILA£35.524.8★
Laphroaig 10 YO Single Malt Whisky 70cl
Laphroaig£24.154.8★
What buyers say about islay whisky
What buyers praise and complain about, mined from review topics.What buyers love
“Perfectly described fantastic drink”
“Amazing smokey taste”
“it was good value”
“So much smooth flavour”
“Great product and availability”
“My partner loved this as a gift”
“Safe to say he was a very happy man, wonderful aroma nice and smooth”
“Light clean sweet smokey”
“Perfect colour and heat to it”
“Its a simple”
What buyers complain about
“Really Bad Taste”
“more expensive”
“I am a fan of big flavoured Islay malts which this definitely is not”
“Quite cheap”
“When you buy a Laphraoig, you expect the smell of seaweed, peat smoke and traditional blackface sheep”
“Untrustful dealer”
“just not the same”
“Unfortunately they only last a couple of days”
“NOT RESEVIED YET”
“Wouldnt pay to gift it to anyone”
Common questions
- Is islay whisky profitable to sell on Amazon United Kingdom?
- The niche generates £1.1M/yr across 23 tracked products. 90-day search growth is -7.5%. Flapen's verdict: Worth a look (55/100).
- How competitive is the islay whisky niche?
- 9 brands and 58 sellers compete. The top 5 products take 54% of clicks and top 5 brands hold 87% of demand.
- What do buyers complain about in islay whisky?
- Top complaints mined from reviews: Taste-Overall, Value For Money, Flavor. The return rate is 0.4%.
- When does demand for islay whisky peak?
- Demand peaks in Nov–Dec; the busiest month runs 3.0× the quietest.
- What does it cost to enter the islay whisky niche?
- Listings span £20.90–£61.42; the average listing price is £36.20 (sweet spot $15–$100). The average incumbent carries 3,580 reviews — the moat a new listing must climb.