Every bottle of Cardhu whisky tells a hidden story of deception, featuring a woman who outsmarted government officials with nothing but a red flag and remarkable courage.
In the hills of Speyside, Helen Cumming would casually invite tax collectors into her home for tea while simultaneously warning neighboring illegal distillers with a red flag signal. This daring family of whisky rebels didn’t just evade the law, they went on to create Cardhu, now a cornerstone of Johnnie Walker blends worth over $206 million (£150 million) annually in global sales.
While thousands of illicit stills operated throughout Scotland in the early 1800s, the Cummings’ Cardow farm operation stood out for its exceptional quality and Helen’s legendary quick thinking.
The Path to Legality
John and Helen Cumming were used to operating on the fringe. When excisemen came to visit, they did the opposite of most and invited them into their homes.
It’s said that Helen would break down the still, pull it out the back door, and start some good stew to cover the scent of mash. While John kept the excisemen company out front, Helen also snuck away to raise a red flag, warning the neighbors that it was time to pack up their stills.
The Cummings were doing what farmers did in the Highlands—whatever was necessary to survive. The contemporary laws weren’t friendly to small families trying to make a little whisky to prevent their crops from going to waste.
The Excise Act of 1823 changed everything, making it much easier to go legal. Once given the opportunity to legally produce whisky, the Cummings took advantage. They took out a license for Cardrow (later Cardhu) Distillery in 1824.
Becoming a Leader
The Cumming family’s influence has been felt throughout the years and across the industry. Helen kept the family’s whisky-making tradition alive through her daughter-in-law, Elizabeth, who ran the “new” Cardhu distillery, built in 1885. After selling their original stills to a young up-and-coming distiller named William Grant, who would establish the powerhouse that is Glenfiddich, the new Cardhu produced triple the amount of whisky they had before.
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This increased production, along with the high quality whisky, caught the attention of John Walker & Sons, who purchased a significant portion of Cardhu’s stock for their blends. Eventually, Elizabeth sold the distillery to John Walker & Sons in 1893, but not without a few conditions.
Elizabeth had her mother’s cunning, foresight, and business acumen. Her son, John, was to be given a seat on John Walker & Sons’ board as a condition of the sale, cementing the family’s legacy and influence. John’s son, Sir Ronald Cumming, was elected chairman of DCL’s board in 1961. A further demonstration of industry leadership occurred in 1969 when Cardhu began marketing its brand as a Single Malt Scotch Whisky, a rarity at that time. Joining pioneers such as Glenfiddich, Cardhu led the charge in helping whisky drinkers appreciate the depth of flavor a single malt can provide.
The Legacy of an Illicit Distiller
I doubt John and Helen Cumming, two farmers eking out a living with their small still, would ever have imagined articles being written about them 200 years in the future. Their legacy lives on due to their ability to think on their feet, embrace change, and be trailblazers in the whisky industry.
They passed those traits onto their children, who for generations ran one of the lynchpins of Johnnie Walker and DCL (now Diageo) for decades. Now, their legacy continues to be immortalized by a small figure atop every Cardhu bottle: a humble farm woman hoisting a red flag.
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