Scotland, Speyside. Distillery operational. Owner: DiageoRanked “first class” by the main players in the Scotch whisky industry, Cardhu (aka Cardow) was, from the late 19th century, the leading malt of the famous Scottish dandy Johnnie Walker. Johnnie Walker & Sons bought the distillery in 1893. In response to the period of prosperity following WWII, Cardhu's production capacity was significantly increased and in the late 1960s, its owners, the Distillers Company Ltd (the future Diageo) launched an 8 year old version with a very marked sherry influence. This bottling was quickly replaced by a 12 year old version that would become the standard age statement for Cardhu, now matured in bourbon casks. In the mid-1980s, Cardhu completed its final metamorphosis and adopted its current small, square, stocky bottle. It was such a success that a major part of its production was quickly reserved for the bottling, threatening the balance on which the Johnnie Walker blend depended. The solution proposed was the release in the very early 2000s of Cardhu 12 Year Old Pure Malt (no longer a single malt). Arousing the ire of the Scotch Whisky Association, this version was phased out and has now become a collectable. Note that very few independent bottlings of Cardhu exist.

A Cardhu 27 year old distilled in 1973 and bottled at cask strength in 2000 for the Rare Malts series. Created in the mid-1990s by United Distillers (Diageo), the Rare Malts series features bottlings from many of the group’’s distilleries, including some of the lesser known whose production was generally used for blends, as well as closed distilleries such as Port Ellen and Brora. Bottled at cask strength, the whiskies in the range are also known for their sometimes astounding alcohol content, often exceeding 60% ABV. The Rare Malts range was discontinued in 2005.