Cardhu

Around 1810, John Cumming decided to transform the Cardow family farm (located in Speyside, Scotland) into a whisky distillery. He used the barley produced by the farm, and produced his own peat. The proximity of the river Spey, as well as the surrounding hills, were all advantages for the distillery which started out as a clandestine distillery. Controls by the Excise Men, responsible for regulating the production of alcohol, were frequent and John was convicted at least 3 times for illegal distillation, with the dismantling of the equipment.

Helen Cumming used an effective ploy to save her husband from getting caught by the authorities while he was distillating his spirits. She used to receive the controllers in a very friendly way, invite them to lunch and plant a red flag in front of the barn. This flag was visible from the hills, signaling John and his accomplices to stay hidden.

In 1824 Cumming finally decided to acquire a license for the production of his whisky, which singularly simplifies the sales channels. From 1876, his daughter-in-law Elisabeth took over the destiny of the distillery and helped to establish its notoriety. She had a new distillery built next to the farm, and sold the stills to a certain William Grant who was about to found Glenfiddich.

Like most of the other distilleries, Cardhu was closed during the Second World War. Renovated in 1960, the number of its stills increased from 4 to 6. Until 1981, it was called "Cardow Distillery". Today, Cardhu is one of the best-selling single malt whiskies in the world. About a third of the entire production is sold as single malt, the rest is intended for blending. Cardhu forms the basis of the Johnnie Walker Red Label, Blue Label, Black Label and Green Label blends.

Check out the Scottish Cardhu whisky.