Cardhu 12 Y.O.
Greece is a wonderful country to visit--great natural beauty, marvelous remnants of its ancient civilizations, and generally excellent food. One way in which it is (or at least was, c. 2000) somewhat wanting is on the drinks front: one can drink the cloying Metaxa, Greece’s national brandy; one can drink Amstel (actual Amstel, not Amstel Light); one can drink various rough, but not entirely unpleasant, Greek wines (the resinated Retsina is always interesting!); one can drink Ouzo, if one is fond of both excessive sweetness and also hard-hitting anise flavor; or, if one must consume single malt Scotch, one can drink Cardhu, which in the early aughts as now, came in an exceedingly tacky (think Crown Royal) distinctive squat bottle. Cardhu has a rather interesting history. Located near the Speyside village of Knockando (also home to an eponymous distillery), it began its life as an illicit distillery in the early years of the 19th century, owned by farmer John Cumming. By all accounts, it was actually John’s wife Helen who ran the operation. In the early years, the whisky was apparently a heavy make, the product of some rather small stills. Helen Cumming’s daughter Elizabeth took over the operation from her mother, and in 1884 she sold the old stills to one William Grant, for use in his brand new Glenfiddich distillery, at the same time purchasing a new, larger set for Cardhu to go along with an overall revamp of the aging farm distillery. By the early 20th century, Cardhu was in the hands of Diageo precursor DCL, although even that didn’t stop association with the Cumming family; DCL’s chairman in the ‘60s was one Ronald Cumming, a great-grandson of John and Helen. Cardhu has long been a key component in the various Johnnie Walker blends, but it was also one of the earliest single malt offerings from the Diageo stable. By the early 2000s, it had developed a devoted following not just in Greece, but also in France, and especially Spain. Stocks were stretched dangerously thin, and in response, Diageo made the highly controversial decision to rename the distillery to its original version as “Cardow” while continuing to market a blend of several different malts under the somewhat misleading moniker of “Cardhu Pure Malt”. This spurred a considerable uproar from single malt aficionados and others in the whisky industry, and Diageo was forced to back down: Cardhu is now once again Cardhu, the whisky is once again sold exclusively as a single, and new clarity has been demanded around terminology, with terms like “pure malt” and “vatted” falling out of favor and terms like “blended malt” and “single malt” being clarified. As for the actual whisky? Well, I don’t recall being especially impressed in my times drinking it in Greece, however, the recent 12 Y.O. in my collection is pretty nice stuff. My detailed thoughts--
Cardhu 12 Y.O. 40% abv
Region: Speyside Nose: Lots of pear. Light. Sweet grass and sage honey. Granny Smith apple. Spring leaves. Appealing and very fresh. Body: Light and slightly hard, sharp. Palate: Lots of pear and applesause with ground cinnamon. Floral and somewhat perfumy--pastel sweets. Earl Grey tea. Digestive biscuits. Finish: Drying and becoming more malty; dry grass. Short. Score: 87/100 Price: $35-45 Availability: Wide, but not universal.
