Standing on the hills on the north side of the Spey valley, the distillery enjoys a panoramic view of the distilling hotspot of Speyside. One of the oldest distilleries around, most whisky drinkers will have consumed some Cardhu even if they were not fully aware of it, due to its extensive use in Johnnie Walker blends! Cardhu is the best selling malt whisky of Diageo’s range.

Timeline

1. 1811

   First founded as an illicit still by John Cummings, a local farmer and smuggler, who worked with his wife Helen.

   Helen proved equally as devious as her husband, and finely honed a routine to avoid the clutches of the excise men. Whenever they would come around, she would justify the mashing and fermenting malt as part of her bread making operation. Then, whilst the inspectors were taking the tea she would brew up for them, Helen would hoist a red flag above their barn. It being Speyside, there were plenty of other distillers around, and this was a warning to them that the government men were on the prowl.

   The location of Mannoch Hill, high above the Spey valley, was chosen as the peat in the area softens and filters the water. The distillery was run on a seasonal basis, as it was mostly an extension to the farm. Helen was mostly in charge of both production and retail, selling the whisky to passers-by through a window in the farm cottage in which the distillery was based.

2. 1824

   Cardhu is legitimised, as Cummings first purchases a licence for the distillery.

3. 1846

   After John’s death, another Cummings takes over, Lewis, to continue the family concern.

4. 1872

   Lewis dies, and his maverick widow, Elizabeth takes over the distillery, proving to be one of whisky’s earliest female pioneers.

   She immediately decided that the distillery was not up to scratch, so started to construct an entirely new distillery on a patch of land just next door.

5. 1884

   This new distillery is completed. The stills from the old distillery were sold to William Grant, who used them to found his famous Glenfiddich distillery.

6. 1887

   The distillery is expanded again, increasing its capacity.

7. 1893

   This greater capacity attracted the attention of John Walker & Sons, who were worried about a shortage of good quality malt whisky for their blends, and wanted to secure a supply. They purchased the distillery for £20,500 and rebranded it as Cardhu (from Cardow, the name it had carried before), from the Gaelic for "Black Rock". The Cummings family, however, continue to run the business.

8. 1908

   The distillery name changes back to Cardow.

9. 1925

   John Walker and Sons merged with Distillers Company Limited, a forerunner of Diageo.

10. 1930

    Scottish Malt Distillers begin to handle the administration of the distillery.

11. 1939-1945

    The Cummings way of doing things comes to a close with the Second World War, as grain shortages require a moratorium on distilling.

12. 1960

    The stills are increased by half, from four to six, resulting in a much larger capacity.

13. 1981

    The distillery’s name changes again, this time back to Cardhu.

14. 1998

    Owners Diageo decided to build a visitor centre at the distillery, attracting visitors.

15. 2000

    A rarer, older release is allowed by Diageo, of a 27 year old for their Rare Malts range, bottled at cask strength, and with out chill filtration, this was a special offering indeed.

16. 2002

    Sales of Cardhu top 3 million bottles a year, leading to serious supply issues for Diageo.

17. 2003

    Production of Cardhu’s single malt is halted, and changed to a vatted malt with whisky from other distilleries. The bottling is virtually identical to the old single malt packaging, and the phrase "pure malt" is ambiguous.

18. 2004

    Huge opposition is mounted to Cardhu’s move, and eventually the Scotch Whisky Association intervene, with a compromise between Diageo and the whisky watchdog reached.

19. 2005

    The Pure Malt is retracted, and the 12 year old reinstated, alongside a 22 year old, which is well received.

20. 2016

    Cardhu’s new NAS release, Cardhu Gold Reserve, picks up a Gold Medal at the Scotch Whisky Masters, run by The Spirits Business magazine.