Distillery

Cardhu whiskies

Cardhu is a Speyside distillery in Knockando, above the Spey valley, and one of the most popular malts in Spain, which is one of its big markets. It belongs to Diageo and is one of the building blocks of Johnnie Walker. Its history is closely tied to the women of the Cumming family, who made it a prosperous distillery in the 19th century. Its style is smooth, sweet and fruity, ideal for getting started with malts.

Founded
1824
Owner
Diageo
Origin
Speyside, Scotland
In the catalogue
5 whiskies

History, style and where to startSee it on the world map

  • Cardhu distillery, photo 1 of 3
    Photo: en:User:Cls With Attitude · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons (cropped and converted)
  • Cardhu distillery, photo 2 of 3
    Photo: Euan Nelson · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons (cropped and converted)
  • Cardhu distillery, photo 3 of 3
    Photo: Euan Nelson · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons (cropped and converted)

5 whiskies

Guide to Cardhu

History

The Cummings distilled illicitly on Cardow farm until they obtained a licence at the beginning of the 19th century. Helen Cumming, according to tradition, warned the neighbours with a red flag when the excisemen were approaching. Her daughter-in-law, Elizabeth, modernised the distillery and rebuilt it at the end of the century. In 1893 she sold it to John Walker & Sons, and since then its malt has been part of the soul of Johnnie Walker. At the beginning of this century the brand was caught up in a controversy when it tried to sell a blend of malts under the same name, and it returned to single malt shortly afterwards.

House style

Cardhu’s style is light, sweet and friendly: pear, apple, honey, vanilla and a floral touch, with a medium body and a smooth finish. It uses no peat and its maturation relies mainly on bourbon casks, which bring sweetness. It is a very easy malt, one of those that work well both neat and with a little ice. It is also a very consistent malt that is easy to find in Spain.

Average flavour profile of its 5 whiskies in the catalogue

Sweet
3.1
Fresh fruit
2.7
Ripe and dried fruit
1.0
Floral and herbal
1.6
Cereal and malt
1.6
Vanilla and creamy
2.1
Oak
1.5
Spicy
1.2
Toasted
1.2
Smoky
0.1
Maritime
0.0
Body and intensity
2.0

Where to start

Cardhu 12 Year Old is the classic expression: smooth, fruity and honeyed, one of the best gateways to single malt. Cardhu Gold Reserve, without an age statement, is a sweeter, rounder alternative. If you like it, try other light Speyside malts next, or the Johnnie Walker that contains its malt.

This text was generated and translated by AI and may contain errors. Founding year, owner and official website come partly from Wikidata.

Explore more

The colours of this page are inspired by the look of Cardhu. WhiskyMatch is independent and has no connection with the brand.