Cardhu Single Malt 18 Years 70cl

Description

One of Speyside's oldest distilleries, Cardhu (then Cardow) began life as a farm whose 'joint' was taken over by John Cumming and his wife Helen in 1811. They soon began making illicit whiskey – research suggests it was Helen who was put in charge of operations – and operating the farm as an early warning station for moonshiners in Glen Livet. Legend has it that when the meters arrived at the farm, Helen distracted them and placed a red flag on a pole alerting her companions.

It is not surprising, perhaps, that Cardhu is also accepted as the first of the Speyside distilleries to obtain one of the new licenses following the passing of the Excise Act in 1823.

Helen Cumming's daughter-in-law, Elizabeth, took charge of operations in 1872, completely rebuilding the primitive setup in 1884 and selling the old stills and waterwheel to William Grant, who planned to build his family distillery, called Glenfiddich, in Dufftown. . By then, Cardhu had established itself as a blender favorite, but it was also available as a single malt in London as early as 1888.

In 1893, the distillery was sold to long-time customer John Walker & Sons, with the understanding that the family would still run the distillery and have a seat on the Walker board. The distillery was expanded from two stills to four in 1899 and then to six in 1960.

At the time, Cardhu was seen as Johnnie Walker's Highland base, but as well as providing liquid for the world's best-selling blend from 1981 onwards, it was also the first venture into single malt branding in the modern era for the coffee giant. DCL industry. whose president from 1963-67 was John and Helen's great-grandson, Sir Ronald Cumming.

Having a brand that is an important element of a blend and a single malt requires some tricky balancing acts. In 2002, this balancing act failed. Projected sales for the single malt in Spain and France are estimated to exceed the capacity of the distillery – which has also had to supply fillers for the growing Walker range.

The solution was to transform Cardhu, the single malt brand, into what was then known as vatted malt (a mixture of single malts from different distilleries), maintaining its overall character. Needless to say, this was considered a bit confusing to the consumer, and after a brief and somewhat ridiculous period in which the distillery's name was changed back to Cardow, the policy was abandoned.

The fallout from the incident resulted in a complete overhaul of Scotch whiskey labeling regulations and the creation of a new term: 'blended malt'.

Today, Cardhu continues to act as 'home' to Johnnie Walker – with an impressive visitor center – and bottlings of the single malt are once again on the rise.

In 2018, Diageo revealed plans to spend £150 million on modernizing tourist facilities across Scotland, including a new branded home for Johnnie Walker in Edinburgh and improved visitor centers in Cardhu, Clynelish, Caol Ila and Glenkinchie, representing some of the regional styles present in Andador.

Cardhu's update will highlight the history of the distillery, including the influence of Helen and Elizabeth Cumming. Access will be improved and an orchard will be created.