Who owns Cardhu?
Cardhu is owned by Diageo (the United Kingdom, LSE: DGE).[1]
Evidence: Diageo plc Annual Report on Form 20-F filed 2026-08-18, SEC EDGAR, 18 August 2026. Verified from filings; last checked .
Key facts
- Current owner
- Diageo plc verified
- Owner HQ
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom, London
- Origin
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom, Speyside, Scotland
- Founded
- 1824
- Category
- Beverages › Spirits › Whisky & bourbon
- Parent ticker
- LSE: DGE NYSE: DEO
- Trademark registrant
- Diageo Scotland Limited (USPTO)
- Last verified
- · 2 sources
About Cardhu
Cardhu was established in 1824 by a farmer whose wife ran the illicit still and warned neighbours of excise officers by raising a flag. It is the principal malt in Johnnie Walker and is also sold as a single malt.
How often Diageo names Cardhu in its annual report
A plain count of the times the name appears in the text of each annual report, not counting the start of a sentence. A brand that an owner writes about more is usually one it treats as central. The brand is named less often than it was three years earlier.
Trademark record for Cardhu
The USPTO record for the Cardhu mark lists Diageo Scotland Limited as the owner of record (serial number 72350328). That name matches the owner named above.[2]
Ownership timeline of Cardhu
Where Cardhu sits in Diageo
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
Open the full Diageo ownership tree →
See the full Diageo brand portfolio (23) →
Other brands owned by Diageo
Diageo controls 23 brands on Brandtree, 23 of them in beverages.
Also in beverages
- Baileys (1974)
- Buchanan's (1884)
- Bulleit (1987)
- Captain Morgan (1944)
- Casamigos (2013)
- Cîroc (2003)
- Crown Royal (1939)
- Don Julio (1942)
- Gordon's (1769)
- Guinness (1759)
- Guinness 0.0 (2020)
- Johnnie Walker (1820)
- Lagavulin (1816)
- Oban (1794)
- Pimm's (1823)
- Roe & Co (2017)
- Ron Zacapa (1976)
- Smirnoff (1864)
Other brands in whisky & bourbon, and who owns them
Diageo has more brands in whisky & bourbon on Brandtree than any other owner: 9 of 71.
| Brand | Owner | Owner based in |
|---|---|---|
| Black Velvet | Heaven Hill | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Blood Oath | MGP | 🇺🇸 United States |
| anCnoc | ThaiBev | 🇹🇭 Thailand |
| Jura | Emperador | 🇵🇭 Philippines |
| Hibiki | Suntory | 🇯🇵 Japan |
| Glenfiddich | William Grant & Sons | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
| Jack Daniel's | Brown-Forman | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Highland Park | Edrington | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
About the owner: Diageo
Diageo is a publicly listed company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, founded in 1997. Brandtree records 23 brands under its control, and it is listed as LSE: DGE and NYSE: DEO.
Diageo was formed in 1997 by the merger of Guinness and Grand Metropolitan. It is the largest spirits company in the world, with a portfolio spanning Scotch whisky, vodka, gin, rum, tequila and stout.
🇬🇧 Cardhu and other British brands
Brandtree records a controlling owner for 552 brands that began in the United Kingdom. 291 of them (53%) are now controlled by a company headquartered in another country; Cardhu is not one of them.
- Badger — Hall & Woodhouse 🇬🇧
- Balblair — ThaiBev 🇹🇭
- Beefeater — Pernod Ricard 🇫🇷
- Bishops Finger — Shepherd Neame 🇬🇧
- Bombay Sapphire — Bacardi 🇧🇲
- Boost — A.G. Barr 🇬🇧
Frequently asked questions
Who is the parent company of Cardhu?
The parent company of Cardhu is Diageo, a publicly listed company headquartered in the United Kingdom.
Is Cardhu British?
Yes. Cardhu originated in the United Kingdom in 1824 and its owner, Diageo, is also headquartered in the United Kingdom.
Is Cardhu still owned by Diageo?
Yes. As of 27 September 2026, Cardhu is still owned by Diageo. The ownership record was last checked against primary sources on that date.
Sources (2) & corrections
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
- [1] Diageo plc Annual Report on Form 20-F filed 2026-08-18 — SEC EDGAR, SEC Form 20-F, published 18 August 2026; retrieved 16 September 2026.
- [2] USPTO: CARDHU, serial 72350328, registration 908750 — United States Patent and Trademark Office, Trademark registry; retrieved 27 September 2026.
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