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22-589: Cardhu distillery is a Speyside single malt Scotch whisky distillery near Archiestown , Moray , Scotland . It was founded in 1824 by whisky smuggler John Cumming and his wife Helen. The distillery is run by Diageo and alongside the single malt Scotch, the distillery's whisky makes up an important part of the Johnnie Walker blended whiskies. The word "Cardhu" derives from the Scottish Gaelic Carn Dubh , meaning "Black Rock". The distillery

44-543: A charitable trust ). Roughly 50 percent of Scotland's whisky is made here in the approximately 50 distilleries located in this region. According to one source, the top five are The Macallan , Glenfiddich , Aberlour , Glenfarclas and Balvenie . This dry, warm, region is a natural for whisky distillers because it is close to barley farms, contains the River Spey and is close to the Atlantic port of Garmouth . The water in

66-512: A BBC article, "Cardhu is a Scotch that may taste familiar because it is used in Johnnie Walker’s blended whiskies". In December 2003, parent company Diageo caused controversy by halting the production of Cardhu single malt and replacing it with a blended malt which they labelled a 'pure malt' using the same bottle design and label as its single malt. The decision by Diageo angered both consumers and other whisky producers who were worried that

88-540: A shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the district and its council formally came into being on 16 May 1975. Throughout the council's existence a majority of the seats were held by independents : Badenoch and Strathspey District Council met at the courthouse at 36 High Street in Kingussie , which had been built in 1865. The council had its main administrative offices in converted former railway buildings at Kingussie railway station on Ruthven Road. There

110-504: A song entitled "Speyside" on September 20th, 2024 as the first single to a forthcoming EP. The song's lyrics were inspired by a visit to a visit to Speyside quay, and under the influence of the local spirit. Badenoch and Strathspey Badenoch and Strathspey was a local government district , created in 1975 as one of eight districts within the Highland region in Scotland . The district

132-663: Is a "protected region" for Scotch Whisky distilling under UK Government legislation . According to Visit Scotland , this region includes the area between the Highlands to the west, Aberdeenshire in the east and extending south to the Cairngorms National Park . Due to the way that the regions are specified, Speyside is wholly within the Highland region and thus whiskies produced in Speyside may legally be described as coming from either region. Illicit distilleries were common in

154-525: Is a tourism initiative featuring seven working Speyside distilleries, a historic distillery (Dallas Dhu, now a museum) and the Speyside Cooperage . A 2012 BBC article recommends a leisurely tour, taking a day or two at each distillery to appreciate the local "traditions and lore". In 2017, tourism in the Moray Speyside area increased significantly, by 50,000 visitors, primarily because of the appeal of

176-610: The 1800s, but eventually, licences became available after the passing of the 1823 Excise Act . George Smith was the first licensee in Speyside, in 1824, and his small operation at Upper Drumin in the Glen Livet valley eventually grew into the massive Glenlivet enterprise. Today, the major distilleries in the region are owned by leading international drinks groups including Diageo , LVMH and Pernod Ricard , by family-owned companies including J. & G. Grant and William Grant & Sons and by The Edrington Group (majority-owned by

198-569: The Malt Whisky Trail in the region. A Trail rep stated (in summer 2019) that 60% of tourists to Speyside visit at least one distillery. In addition to those on the Trail, some other distilleries also have visitor centres. In addition to those single malts sold under the distilleries' names, brands associated with Speyside include Allt-á-Bhainne, Glen Turner, Lismore, McClelland's Single Malt , and Tlàth. American indie band, Bon Iver , released

220-536: The Scotch Whisky Association estimated in 2019 that whisky tourism in Scotland generates £68.3 million per year. The Association also stated that the industry supported 40,000 jobs and accounted for over £4 billion in exports for Scotland; the specific benefits for Speyside were not provided. The region hosts an annual whisky festival known as "Spirit of Speyside". Scotland's Malt Whisky Trail

242-539: The area around the River Spey in Moray and Badenoch and Strathspey , in northeastern Scotland . The two best-selling single malt whiskies in the world, The Glenlivet and Glenfiddich , come from Speyside. Strathspey has the greatest number of distilleries of any of the whisky-producing areas of Scotland. Dufftown alone has six working distilleries with an annual capacity of 40.4 million litres of spirit. Speyside

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264-461: The area is said to have "the lowest level of dissolved minerals" of any area in Scotland, and that may affect the taste of its whiskies. Another report explains that " quartzite at the source keeps high levels of minerals from mixing with the water". The Visit Scotland website indicates that the region's whiskies have a fruity nature "ranging from ripe pears to sultanas" and some exhibit "sweet, caramel and fruity notes". Another review states that

286-447: The daughter-in-law of John and Helen Cumming. The stills from the old distillery building were sold to William Grant who set up Glenfiddich distillery. The new building and stills meant that Cardhu could produce triple the amount of whisky it had previously produced. These higher production levels led to Johnnie Walker and Sons buying much of Cardhu's output to put into their increasingly popular blend. In 1893, Elizabeth Cumming sold

308-563: The distillery to Johnnie Walker and Sons on the condition that the Cumming family could continue the day-to-day running of the distillery. Cardhu distillery kept working under these conditions until the onset of the Second World War when wartime restrictions meant that it was harder to use barley for distilling purposes. In 1960, the distillery's still-house, mash-house and tun-room were rebuilt, and in 1970, steam coils were introduced to heat

330-483: The hill the farm distillery was on, Helen could see the police coming and would throw flour on herself and say that she was baking bread to disguise the smell. She would then offer them tea and fly a flag outside so that the other nearby distilleries could see and take prompt action. In 1885, the distillery was rebuilt on a new piece of land but continued to stay in the hands of the Cummings, being run by Elizabeth Cumming ,

352-500: The new council areas. The Highland Council has a number of area committees for debating local matters. One of the committees is called the Badenoch and Strathspey Committee, comprising the councillors who represent the Badenoch and Strathspey ward , which broadly corresponds to the pre-1996 district. The first election to the district council was held in 1974, initially operating as

374-517: The single malt image would be damaged. Diageo responded to the criticism by agreeing to change the label style and colour of their pure malt in order to avoid consumer confusion . Sales of Cardhu pure malt dropped substantially due to the change. Cardhu recommenced producing a single malt in 2006. Cardhu single malt is 40% ABV . Speyside single malt Speyside single malts are single malt Scotch whiskies , distilled in Strathspey ,

396-416: The stills and the number of stills was increased to six. Spring water from Mannoch Hill started to be mixed with water from the local Lynne burn to supply the increased production of the distillery. Scotland's Malt Whisky Trail is a tourism initiative featuring seven working Speyside distilleries including Cardhu, a historic distillery ( Dallas Dhu , now a museum) and the Speyside Cooperage . According to

418-488: The use of peat is not common here, so many of the whiskies are not "smoky"; the article concluded that "typically, most Speyside whisky is fruity, sweet, and nutty, featuring notes of apple, honey, vanilla, and spice". In addition to providing jobs and income for barley farmers and distillery employees in the region, whisky production has helped improve tourism. Hotels and others with tourism businesses then benefit. All regions of that produce Scotch Whisky benefit, of course;

440-825: Was abolished in 1996 when Highland was made a single-tier council area . Since then, the Highland Council has had a Badenoch and Strathspey area committee covering the area. The district was created in 1975 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 , which abolished Scotland's counties, burghs and landward districts and replaced them with a two-tier system of regions and districts . The new district covered four previous districts, two from Inverness-shire and two from Moray : From Inverness-shire From Moray Cromdale and Grantown-on-Spey had historically been part of Inverness-shire, but had been transferred to Moray (then called Elginshire) in 1870. The new district

462-424: Was established in 1824 by John Cumming, who had previously been a whisky smuggler. The distillery was sited high up on Mannoch Hill, above the River Spey due to the peat softening the water. It started as farm distillery working on a seasonal basis after the harvest had been gathered. It was mainly run by Helen Cumming who used to sell bottles of whisky to passers-by through the window of their farmhouse. Due to

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484-596: Was named after Strathspey , the valley of the River Spey , and the historic province of Badenoch . Badenoch and Strathspey District Council was a district-level authority, with regional-level functions provided by the Highland Regional Council , based in Inverness . The districts and regions created in 1975 were abolished in 1996, under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 and replaced with single-tier council areas . The Highland region became one of

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