--- description: Scotch Whisky makers are worried about the vote for Scottish independence on September 18. title: This is how Scottish independence might affect Scotch whisky image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3e4a91d72cbc7e7e/6986a32d3bc999e6421a5492/455307080.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Scotland](/tag/scotland/) ## Scotland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Scotch Whisky Makers Aren't Warming to the Prospect of Scottish Independence by [TIME Video](/author/time-video/) ## TIME Video Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 13, 2014 8:43 PM CUT  A whisky store in Edinburgh, Scotland, seen in Jan. 2014. A whisky store in Edinburgh, Scotland, seen in Jan. 2014.Simon Dawson—Bloomberg/Getty Images by [TIME Video](/author/time-video/) ## TIME Video Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 13, 2014 8:43 PM CUT Scotch whisky makers are worried about the vote for Scottish independence on September 18. The Scotch Whisky Association explained how a vote for independence is concerning because it is currently unclear which currency Scotland will use and what an independent Scotland might mean for access to foreign markets. Currency confusion could lower sales, putting the important industry in a tailspin, along with the rest of the economy. As the country’s second-largest export, Scotch comprises one fourth of all of Scotland’s food and drink exports. Some 40 bottles are shipped out of the country every second, according to [CNN Money](http://money.cnn.com/2014/09/11/news/scotch-whisky-scotish-referendum/ "undefined"). The Scotch Whisky Association also stated that 35,000 people make their living off of Scotch production. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3362520/scotch-whisky-makers-arent-warming-to-the-prospect-of-scottish-independence/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3362520/scotch-whisky-makers-arent-warming-to-the-prospect-of-scottish-independence/"},"headline":"Scotch Whisky Makers Aren't Warming to the Prospect of Scottish Independence","datePublished":"2014-09-13T20:43:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T10:10:14.033Z","description":"Distillers fear secession could dampen sales of their beloved spirits","url":"https://time.com/3362520/scotch-whisky-makers-arent-warming-to-the-prospect-of-scottish-independence/","keywords":["Scotland","Money","Alcohol","sales","uk","drinking","United Kingdom","Scotland topic"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3e4a91d72cbc7e7e/6986a32d3bc999e6421a5492/455307080.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Video","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-video/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3e4a91d72cbc7e7e/6986a32d3bc999e6421a5492/455307080.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Scotland Heads Towards The Vote","caption":"A whisky store in Edinburgh, Scotland, seen in Jan. 2014.","creditText":"Simon Dawson—Bloomberg/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/scotland/","name":"Scotland"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3362520/scotch-whisky-makers-arent-warming-to-the-prospect-of-scottish-independence/","name":"Scotch Whisky Makers Aren't Warming to the Prospect of Scottish Independence"}}]}] ```