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| Region:Speyside | |
|---|---|
| Location | Archiestown,Moray,Scotland |
| Coordinates | 57°28′13.7″N3°21′00.2″W / 57.470472°N 3.350056°W /57.470472; -3.350056 |
| Owner | Diageo |
| Founded | 1823 (1823) |
| Founder | John & Helen Cumming |
| Water source | Sources in the Mannoch Hills and Lyne Burn |
| No. of stills | 3 wash stills (12,000 L) 3 wash stills (10,500 L) |
| Capacity | 3,500,000 L |
| Website | Cardhu distillery |
Cardhu distillery is aSpeyside single maltScotch whiskydistillery nearArchiestown,Moray,Scotland. It was founded in 1824 bywhisky smuggler John Cumming and his wife Helen.[1]
The distillery is run byDiageo and alongside the single malt Scotch, the distillery's whisky makes up an important part of theJohnnie Walker blended whiskies. The word "Cardhu" derives from theScottish GaelicCarn Dubh, meaning "Black Rock".[2]
The distillery was established in 1824 by John Cumming, who had previously been a whisky smuggler. The distillery was sited high up on Mannoch Hill, above theRiver Spey due to thepeat softening the water. It started as farm distillery working on a seasonal basis after the harvest had been gathered.[3] It was mainly run by Helen Cumming who used to sell bottles of whisky to passers-by through the window of their farmhouse. Due to the hill the farm distillery was on, Helen could see the police coming and would throw flour on herself and say that she was baking bread to disguise the smell. She would then offer them tea and fly a flag outside so that the other nearby distilleries could see and take prompt action.[3]
In 1885, the distillery was rebuilt on a new piece of land but continued to stay in the hands of the Cummings, being run by Elizabeth Cumming, the daughter-in-law of John and Helen Cumming. The stills from the old distillery building were sold toWilliam Grant who set upGlenfiddich distillery. The new building and stills meant that Cardhu could produce triple the amount of whisky it had previously produced. These higher production levels led toJohnnie Walker and Sons buying much of Cardhu's output to put into their increasingly popular blend.[4]
In 1893, Elizabeth Cumming sold the distillery toJohnnie Walker and Sons on the condition that the Cumming family could continue the day-to-day running of the distillery. The company joinedDistillers Company in 1925.[5] Cardhu distillery kept working under these conditions until the onset of theSecond World War when wartime restrictions meant that it was harder to use barley for distilling purposes.[6]
In 1960, the distillery's still-house, mash-house and tun-room were rebuilt, and in 1970, steam coils were introduced to heat the stills and the number of stills was increased to six. Spring water from Mannoch Hill started to be mixed with water from the local Lynneburn to supply the increased production of the distillery.[3]
Guinness acquired The Distillers Company in 1986.[7]Guinness merged withGrand Metropolitan in 1997 to formDiageo.[8]
Scotland's Malt Whisky Trail is a tourism initiative featuring seven working Speyside distilleries including Cardhu, a historic distillery (Dallas Dhu, now a museum) and theSpeyside Cooperage. According to a BBC article, "Cardhu is a Scotch that may taste familiar because it is used in Johnnie Walker’s blended whiskies".[9]
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In December 2003, parent company Diageo caused controversy[10][11] by halting the production of Cardhu single malt and replacing it with ablended malt which they labelled a 'pure malt' using the same bottle design and label as its single malt. The decision by Diageo angered both consumers and other whisky producers who were worried that the single malt image would be damaged. Diageo responded to the criticism by agreeing to change the label style and colour of their pure malt in order to avoidconsumer confusion.[12][13] Sales of Cardhu pure malt dropped substantially due to the change.[14]
Cardhu recommenced producing asingle malt in 2006.[14] Cardhu single malt is 40%ABV.[15]
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