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Cardhu

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From its origins in a small farmhouse on the windswept braes below Dallas Moor to its international acclaim as a great Highland Single Malt Whisky, the history of the Cardhu is a classic of its kind. Distilling whisky was, in Scotland's history, a small-scale family affair.

The name of the farm in its anglicised spelling was Cardow Farm, but to the gaelic speaking locals, it was Cardhu -The Black Rock.

It is a unique characteristic of Cardhu that, in a whisky world dominated by men, women have played a major part in the history of the brand.

It was under Elizabeth Cumming's direction that Cardhu grew from a tiny, local distillery to one of the leading Speyside Single Malts.

The quality of Cardhu's product attracted many would be buyers. Finally in 1893, Elizabeth sold the distillery to John Walker & Sons of Kilmarnock and her son was installed as manager of the distillery, and a board member of Walker's with a substantial shareholding. Although a few bottles of Cardhu single malt became available over the years it was a key ingredient of the firm's famous "Johnnie Walker" that Cardhu was enjoyed, unknowingly, by Scotch drinkers the world over.

The history of the distillery, its treasured arts and traditions, the pure, clean flavour of the natural Highland ingredients, the care of making and the long, slow maturing are all to be tasted in a glass of Golden Cardhu - Truly a great Highland Single Malt.

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Source www.bbr.com :

 Cardow (Cardhu) Distillery,Speyside

The distillery was founded as Cardow (Gaelic for black rock) by John Cumming in the early 1800's, when he started using the barley grown in the family farm to produce his own peat.

He began as a moonshine distiller. The proximity of the river Spey was ideal for a distillery and the surrounding hills offered a hide-out in case of raids by the excise men. The controls were frequent, but John's wife, Helen Cumming helped to distract them. She used to invite them for dinner, while putting a red flag behind the barn as a warning to her husband for the presence of the excise men. In 1824, after the promulgation of the Excise Act, John purchased a licence for the production of his whisky and in 1876 his daughter in law, Elisabeth, started developping the distillery in a successful commercial venture.

An alternative spelling to the distillery name, Cardhu, emerged after the Second World War, when it the distillery start promoting single malt bottlings. The distillery name reverted again to "Cardow Distillery" since 1981.

About 30% of the production is sold as single malt, the remaining entering in blends, most significantly of Johnnie Walkers blends, Red, Black, Green and Blue labels. The whisky fell victim to its own success, when Diageo (the current owners) decided to  introduce a vatted malt, "Cardhu Pure Malt", (augmented by other single malts of the Diageo group), as it was not able satisfy all the demand for Cardhu single malt.

However in 2006 Cardhu recommenced producing a single malt. The Cardhu single malt bottlings are distinguished by their smooth, delicate, easy drinking character. Versions of over 12 years old demonstrate more fat texture and caramelised nuttiness, that makes them a good match to desserts.

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A request from Chris:
Dear sir/madam
I am researching my family history.  My surname is cardow and i would like to know if you can give me any information on that family surname.