Cardhu Whisky

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  Cardhu 12 Years Old Single Speyside Malt Scotch Whisky 70 cl 40%

  Item no.: 505956-09846000

  Helen Cumming raised a red flag over the farm whenever the exciseman came near. Two hundred years later Cardhu still stands in the same spot at Knockando, making the softest malt in Speyside.

  Expert description

  Cardhu 12 years is a Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in oak casks and bottled at 40%.

  The distillery was founded in 1824 by John and Helen Cumming, and in 1893 John Walker & Sons bought it. Cardhu has been the heart of Johnnie Walker ever since, and the house style — light, honeyed and almost smokeless — is exactly what the blenders build on. The 12 year old is the flagship and has for decades been the bottle you hand a beginner without the enthusiast raising an eyebrow.

  Tasting notes

  Nose

  Honey, pear and pale meadow flowers. Behind them sits a dry malted cereal note and a hint of vanilla from the wood.

  Palate

  Soft and light, with poached pear, honey, cereal and a touch of cinnamon. There are no edges here — this is a whisky that slips down rather than demanding attention.

  Finish

  Short to medium, dry and malty, with a faint spiced warmth at the end.

  Specifications

  Name: Cardhu 12 years Single Speyside Malt Scotch Whisky 70 cl 40%
  Distillery: Cardhu
  Region/Country: Speyside Scotland
  Type: Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky
  Age: 12 years
  ABV: 40 %
  Size: 70 CL
  Cask type: Oak casks
  EAN no.: 5000267102573

  Flavour profile

  Soft · Fruity · Honeyed · Malty · Unpeated

  Did you know?

  Cardhu was the first Scottish distillery run by a woman. Elizabeth Cumming took over in 1872 and rebuilt the place completely — and she sold the old timber walls on to William Grant, who used them to raise Glenfiddich.

  See our full range of Cardhu Whisky

  • 1pcs.
    93,75EUR
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  Cardhu 12 years old Tall Bottle Old Version Highland Malt Scotch Whisky 75 cl 43%

  Item no.: 505956-12684297-14

  The tall bottle, the yellow label and the word Highland instead of Speyside. This is what Cardhu looked like before the marketing department worked out where Knockando sits on the map.

  Please note: Wear and scuffs on the label.

  Expert description

  Cardhu 12 years Tall Bottle Old Version is a Highland Malt Scotch Whisky matured in oak casks and bottled at 43% in a 75 cl bottle.

  The release dates from before the current bottle shape, when Cardhu was sold as a Highland Malt. Speyside sits geographically within the Highlands, and until regional names took hold on labels that was the wording used. The 75 cl size and 43% strength also belong to the past, both later changed to 70 cl and 40%. For collectors it is exactly that kind of detail that makes a bottle interesting.

  Tasting notes

  Nose

  Fuller than today's Cardhu. Honey and baked apple, old library wood and a dry, nutty cereal note that comes with years in glass.

  Palate

  Rounder and more oily than the modern release. Malt, honey, dried apricot and a hint of dark cocoa, with a warmth the extra three percentage points clearly contribute.

  Finish

  Medium long and dry, with malt, hazelnut and a last breath of spice.

  Specifications

  Name: Cardhu 12 years Tall Bottle Old Version Highland Malt Scotch Whisky 75 cl 43%
  Distillery: Cardhu
  Region/Country: Speyside Scotland
  Type: Highland Malt Scotch Whisky
  Age: 12 years
  ABV: 43 %
  Size: 75 CL
  Cask type: Oak casks
  Edition: Tall Bottle Old Version

  Flavour profile

  Malty · Honeyed · Nutty · Soft · Unpeated

  Investment potential

  High. The release is discontinued, the bottle shape is no longer produced, and the 75 cl format at 43% only exists in older stock. The supply of well-kept examples keeps falling.

  Did you know?

  Cardhu was called Cardow until 1981. The name changed because the pronunciation tripped people up outside Scotland — but the water still comes from the same springs on Mannoch Hill.

  See our full range of Cardhu Whisky

  • 1pcs.
    335,00EUR
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  Cardhu 12 years old Tall Bottle Old Version Speyside Malt Scotch Whisky 43%

  Item no.: 22227865479-1106-197280326

  A bottle in the tall shape, still in its carton, holding 75 centilitres and three extra percentage points. Cardhu as it was sold when off-licences still called themselves wine merchants.

  Expert description

  Cardhu 12 years Tall Bottle Old Version is a Speyside Malt Scotch Whisky matured in oak casks and bottled at 43% in a 75 cl bottle.

  It comes with its original carton, which is rarer than the bottle itself — boxes were thrown away, bottles were kept. The release predates the move to 70 cl and 40%, and the higher strength shows clearly in the body. By then Cardhu had already spent nearly a century inside John Walker & Sons, and the soft, honeyed house style had long been the backbone of Scotland's best selling blend.

  Tasting notes

  Nose

  Soft and mature. Honey, poached pear and vanilla, with a dry malt note and a hint of dried camomile behind.

  Palate

  Full and lightly syrupy. Malt, pale caramel, apple compote and a little cinnamon, carried by a warmth that stays longer than in the current release.

  Finish

  Medium, dry and malty, with a faintly bitter oak note at the end.

  Specifications

  Name: Cardhu 12 years Tall Bottle Old Version Speyside Malt Scotch Whisky 75 cl 43%
  Distillery: Cardhu
  Region/Country: Speyside Scotland
  Type: Speyside Malt Scotch Whisky
  Age: 12 years
  ABV: 43 %
  Size: 75 CL
  Cask type: Oak casks
  Edition: Tall Bottle Old Version with carton

  Flavour profile

  Soft · Honeyed · Malty · Fruity · Unpeated

  Investment potential

  High. Discontinued format, discontinued bottle shape and the original carton intact. That combination is hard to find, and complete examples leave the market quickly.

  Did you know?

  Cardhu is one of the few Scottish distilleries where a marriage decided the history. Helen Cumming sold whisky through the kitchen window while her husband worked the farm — and it was her daughter-in-law Elizabeth who later turned the place into a proper distillery.

  See our full range of Cardhu Whisky

  • 1pcs.
    402,00EUR
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  Cardhu 14 years old Special Release 2021 Single Malt Scotch Whisky 55,5%

  Item no.: 22227865471-305-767860

  Cardhu is known as the gentle one. Then came 2021, when Diageo gave the distillery fourteen years, wine casks and 55.5% — and suddenly the gentle one was not gentle at all.

  Expert description

  Cardhu 14 years Special Release 2021 is a Single Malt Scotch Whisky finished in wine casks and bottled at 55.5%.

  The bottle is called The Scarlet Blossoms of Black Rock and belongs to Diageo's annual Special Releases series, where eight distilleries each year show a side of themselves you do not otherwise see. For Cardhu that meant a finish in wine casks, laying dark fruit and a dry, almost tannic edge over the usual house honey. The series is released once and never repeated.

  Tasting notes

  Nose

  Red berries and plum first, then honey and baked apple underneath. The wine cask brings a dry, almost dusty spice, and the strength reads as warmth rather than sharpness.

  Palate

  Powerful and juicy. Cherry, dark chocolate and orange peel, with Cardhu's honeyed sweetness beneath it all. The oak tightens things up in the middle and gives a dry grip the 12 year old simply does not have.

  Finish

  Long and dry, with red berries, cocoa nibs and a spiced warmth that stays put.

  Specifications

  Name: Cardhu 14 years Special Release 2021 Single Malt Scotch Whisky 55,5%
  Distillery: Cardhu
  Region/Country: Speyside Scotland
  Type: Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky
  Age: 14 years
  ABV: 55.5%
  Size: 70 CL
  Cask type: Finished in wine casks
  Edition: Special Release 2021 The Scarlet Blossoms of Black Rock
  EAN no.: 5000267186696

  Flavour profile

  Fruity · Spiced · Honeyed · Red Berry · Cask Strength

  Investment potential

  Medium. Special Releases appear in a single run per year and are never made again. Older editions of the series have risen noticeably as they left the shelves.

  Did you know?

  The Special Releases series began in 2001 as a way of getting rare casks out of Diageo's warehouses. Several of the distilleries featured over the years no longer exist, which is exactly why the series has become one of the most closely watched annual events in Scotch whisky.

  See our full range of Cardhu Whisky

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  • 1pcs.
    164,75EUR
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  Cardhu Gold Reserve Cask Selection Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky 70 cl 40%

  Item no.: 059763-615-996

  There is no age on the label, and that is deliberate. Gold Reserve is about what toasted wood does to Cardhu's honey, not about how many winters have passed.

  Expert description

  Cardhu Gold Reserve Cask Selection is a Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in toasted oak casks and bottled at 40%.

  The casks were chosen for their toast rather than their age. Toasted oak draws out caramel and baked fruit, and that is exactly what lifts Cardhu's pale, honeyed core into something deeper. The result is a malt with more dark chocolate and ripe orchard fruit than the 12 year old, but with the same soft mouthfeel. Without an age statement the distillery is free to pick casks by flavour rather than by calendar.

  Tasting notes

  Nose

  Baked apple and honey first, then caramel and a warm, toasted note from the wood. A light floral sweetness sits behind.

  Palate

  Soft and round. Caramel, ripe pear, honey and a touch of dark chocolate. The toast brings a dry warmth towards the end that keeps the sweetness from turning dull.

  Finish

  Short to medium, soft and lightly spiced, with cocoa and malt at the close.

  Specifications

  Name: Cardhu Gold Reserve Cask Selection Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky 70 cl 40%
  Distillery: Cardhu
  Region/Country: Speyside Scotland
  Type: Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky
  ABV: 40 %
  Size: 70 CL
  Cask type: Toasted oak casks
  Edition: Gold Reserve Cask Selection
  EAN no.: 5000267125497

  Flavour profile

  Soft · Caramel · Fruity · Honeyed · Unpeated

  Did you know?

  Toasting and charring are not the same thing. A toasted cask is heated slowly so the sugars in the wood caramelise, while a charred cask gets a blackened layer inside. Cardhu uses toasting to pull out sweetness rather than smoke.

  See our full range of Cardhu Whisky

  • 1pcs.
    58,75EUR