cardhu distillery

robertkU762MR

This was the second distillery of many that we would visit during our stay in Scotland. It was a slightly difficult to access site with narrow winding roads but we don't all want easy do we? We opted for a tasting tour and were shown most of the stages of the process, however, this like many other sites does not have its own malting, nor does it bottle its produce on site.On the tour you will learn about the process and what makes each whisky unique, including the unique stories behind each distillery. Many people will tell you that it's all made the same way, but each distillery will tell you the differences that make their product different and unique - it's certainly worth visiting several to learn the history behind each and see the different stills and learn about the different mash times.As we had signed up to be friends there was no charge for the tour, but we did join a tasting tour so there was a small additional charge for this and did get a souvenir glass which isn't part of the regular tour. The on site shop offers a range of whisky from Cardhu and other distilleries, including the Johnnie Walker brand.

andrewmJ4999JL

Even though the distillery was closed, the shop was open and I got my new 'Scottish Passport',stamped, and ended up buying an up-market Cardhu after the tasting. Thoroughly enjoyed the visit and the craich.

seanm368

This was the first distillery we visited in Scotland, and has by far the best history. We really enjoyed the tour, and found the guide to be very knowledgable, witty and loud enough to hear (a definite plus in a noisy distillery). In addition to the tour, we got to sample 3 different Cardhu Scotches, and of course a discount off some purchases. I would definitely do this tour again.

Christophe_Lap

Visit:The visit was great, everything is showed from the distillery to the warehouse with good explanations and some history facts. There were some playful things to do like recognizing odors and so on which made it more fun.The tasting:Really a great tasting where everything is explained, how to proceed and so on. Water used by the distillery was at hand with a pasteur pipette in order to add only dropwise the desired amount of water. So the same whisky can be tasted with different water quantities. Also the room where the tasting takes place was splendid. In these conditions 4 whisky where tasted (actually 3 whisky and a the distillate without maturation). Just great. Summary :We visited also Oban during our journey in Scotland, but Cardhu was clearly in another league. We really enjoyed it!

Muellermilch

Admit, the destillerie is nit the closest, but if you travel to Scotland that is irrelevant anyway.Carshu belongs to the Diageo Group and they offer the marvellous "friends of the classic malts" membership (www.malts.com), which is indeed for free and offers great opportunities at their destilleries. I don't want to market this, but at Cardhu we have been introduced to this club and it was worth it all the way through our journey.At the visitor center we decided to skip the tour through the destillerie, hence we had this on orhers before and the general process is quite similar. We therefore went directly to the Whiskey tasting, which was offered 5 out of 6 for £10. we shared the glasses between 2, which was plenty still and bought 2 bottles then. With the membership you got £3 off the bottle.

donmacintyre1954

The experience of going on the tour and the tasting was excellent. It was very informative and at an even relaxed pace. My wife doesn't like whisky - or at least that was the case until she had finished the tasting and we went in search of a bottle to take home.

clivep705

As the next tour included more tasting then we wanted. The guide gave us the basic tour straight away. As with most distillaries taking of photos indoors is banned. We got a full talk through the process and the history with a walk through the different stages ending with the warehouse and then a tasting of two of yhe whiskies. It was a minimal pricel but they then give you a passport which gives you free basic tours and tasting at 11 other distillaries over Scotland. Recommend.

331RobertC

We were in the area for a short holiday and had checked the Distillery's website re opening times for visiting etc. There appeared no problems. We turned up at the visitor centre eager to go round as we had been there a number of years ago and had a really enjoyable time. At the visitor centre there was one member of staff on duty who was on the phone at the time. No acknowledgement of us being there was made. We only discovered from earwigging her conversation that the tours were not on due to work being carried out. No mention of this on the website. She came off the phone, answered our question re Cardhu miniatures for sale, there were none, they had sold out! The phone went again and that was it! I'm sorry not good enough! The only plus point from the visit was meeting the distillery cat who looked like a wee cuddly bear and was very friendly! Can't comment on the attraction as we couldn't get in.

pubworkuk

Although the website stated tours run through October, Cardhu had finished for the season, however his didn't stop us enjoying our tastings. Informative and passionate explanations of the whiskies.

synn_vee759

A totally cold, rainy day without any golf possibilities, we decided to take a trip to Cardhu Distillery, east of Inverness. Since Cardhu is my absolute favorite Scottish Whiskey, this was one of our goals for our this holiday. Under dark grey skies with the rain pouring down we managed to take a wrong turn which made us arrive just after closing time. Slightly disappointed, we went towards the parking area, ready to go back empty handed. But our luck changed because we ran into a lovely man called "Buzz", who turned out to be one of the guys that supervises the manufacturing of this golden beverage. When he heard that we were too late, he offered us a tour around the premises and showed us the distillery. Buzz made our day and we could leave Cardhu, though without any whiskey, happy and grateful. Thank you Buzz - you did a really good job for Cardhu that day!

SteveTL

Tour was very educational regarding production. Loved the history of the founding mother. Had a wonderful personal guided tasting. Small, personal, informative experience.

McSan41

The first time I was visiting the distillery there was no time for a tour anymore cause it was too late. I had to find out the Helen Cummings story so went back. Glad I did cause it was a great tour! Nice to hear a woman is responsible for this elegant Whisky! After your visit, 3 Highland cows are waiting for you to say hi! Very nice place to stay longer to have a picnic or just enjoy the magnificent view!

tims246

We really enjoyed our tour of this distillery, in the company of Leanne, who was very knowledgeable, very natural and helpful in answering all our questions and clearly a genuine enthusiast for her work. The history is fascinating - being the only distillery started by a woman - with her illicit still in 1811! - and the components of the tour make the production and development of this extraordinary spirit and all its tradition and mystique really come alive. We paid £7.99 and the tasting at the end was quite special - trying out three quite different examples of Cardhu Malt, learning what a difference age and different maturation techniques can make to the perfume, the attack, the length and the finish of each 'wee dram'. We went away with free tasting glasses and the chance to become a 'Friend of the Classic Malts', which reminded us that this was a very well-designed example of the marketing expertise of a global brand (Diageo). It was well worth it. I'd recommend for comparison visiting one of the local family-owned distilleries as well.

Jpcowell

We had booked a 10:15 tour and Carren was our guide - she was very knowledgeable and shared much of her local knowledge and stories. She made the whole trip very enjoyable and had a real interest in the whisky. Join the friends of the classic malt for free tours and discounts.

Jimbob1960

Great scenic location, nestling in the hills of speyside, went into the shop and booked tour round the distillery, the 15 mins we had to wait was quickly gone as lots of things to see in shop and small exhibition room.Catriona was our guide who was very knowledgeable and very clear with great stories about the full process throughout the distillery