John Cumming licensed Cardow distillery in 1824, although he and his wife Helen had already been producing illicit whisky for 13 years. Elizabeth Cumming nicknamed “The Queen of the Whisky...
Read more...

John Cumming licensed Cardow distillery in 1824, although he and his wife Helen had already been producing illicit whisky for 13 years. Elizabeth Cumming nicknamed “The Queen of the Whisky Trade” and daughter in law of John Cumming assumed control in 1884 and proceeded to build a new distillery. John Walker & Sons bought the distillery for £20,500 in 1893 and were soon using the malt for their famous Johnnie Walker blend. The name was changed to Cardhu, meaning “Black Rock” in Gaelic, in 1893 but soon changed back to Cardow in 1908. The distillery was expanded and two new stills were added in 1961. The name was changed back to Cardhu once again in 1981. Diageo re-launched the 12 year old as a pure malt, which had malt from other distilleries in it, in 2003 after encountering supply problems but this was met with protest by the rest of the industry and Diageo eventually withdrew the pure malt and re-launched the 12 year old in 2005.

Distillery:	Cardhu	Region:	Speyside
Established:	1824	Status:	Active
Proprietor	Diageo
Stills:	3 wash stills, 3 spirit stills	Capacity:	2,300,000 litres of spirit per year
Open To Visitors:	Jan-Easter; Mon-Fri 11:00-15:00 Easter- June; Mon-Fri 10:00-17:00 Jul-Sep; Mon-Sat 10:00-17:00 Sun 12:00-16:00	Contact :	Cardhu Distillery Knockando Morayshire AB38 7RY
Facilities:	Reception centre, Shop, Picnic area, Disabled access, Tastings
Water Source:	Spring on the Mannoch Hill and Lyne Burn

Read less...