Cardhu 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky

About Cardhu

During the early 19th century, the British Crown was still recovering from the exorbitant costs of the Napoleonic Wars, and Parliament was tasked with the responsibility of finding new sources of revenue that could support Britain’s European hegemony. In 1823, Parliament passed the Excise Act, which required illegal distilleries throughout Scotland to apply for licensure and levied taxes on any spirits they distilled.

Just one year after the passage of the Excise Act, John and Helen Cummings founded the Cardhu Distillery in the Speyside region of Scotland. In an effort to avoid the taxes levied on distilled spirits by the Excise Act, Helen would disguise the mashing and fermenting of grains at the distillery as bread-making. In addition, while the tax collectors dispatched by the Crown enjoyed the tea and crumpets that she prepared, Helen would raise a red flag on the roof of her barn in order to warn her neighbors that Excise Officers had descended upon the region.

By 1872, the Cummings had passed the distillery on to their daughter, Elizabeth, and by the turn of the century, Cardhu Distillery had earned a reputation as one of Scotland’s finest producers of single malt Scotch whisky. At the same time, Cardhu whisky became an increasingly critical component of Johnnie Walker blended whiskies.