All roads now lead to the Johnnie Walker Princes Street whisky experience in Edinburgh - the centre-piece attraction in the company's visionary ambition for whisky tourism in Scotland - that will launch this summer.
The distinctive flag used by Helen Cumming of Cardhu's founding family – one of whisky's most famous female pioneers - to warn illicit distillers of the approaching 'excise man' in the 1800s now flies proudly above the distillery once again.
This is the latest move in a journey across the Johnnie Walker 'four corners' distilleries of Glenkinchie in the Lowlands and the Highland distillery of Clynelish, which opened their doors to the public after being transformed into world-leading tourism destinations.
The new visitor experience celebrates the distillery's 200-year history and legacy as a pivotal part of the Johnnie Walker story, it was sold by the Cummings' family to Johnnie Walker and Sons in 1893 and became integral to the Johnnie Walker success story over the coming decades. The state-of-the-art space includes a re-designed immersive story-telling experience with a projection story room, whisky tasting kitchen and updated whisky experience tours.
Cristina Diezhandino, Diageo Chief Marketing Officer, said: "We are delighted to be raising the flag at Cardhu to mark the opening of the new visitor experience just as our distilling pioneer Helen Cumming did two centuries ago. When Helen raised her flag, it was to warn her neighbours and the local community, but today we raise the flag in a symbol of confidence and ambition for the future of Scotch whisky and tourism in Speyside and throughout Scotland.
"Cardhu is a special whisky, a special distillery with a special history and heritage, and the investment we have made creates an exciting and engaging experience that will surprise and delight visitors whether they are local staycationers in the UK or tourists from around the globe when they are able to travel."
Cardhu is the third of the 'Four Corner' Johnnie Walker distillery experiences - which are single malt distilleries that represent Scotland's four whisky making regions and contribute to the world's number one Scotch whisky - to be transformed as part of Diageo's Scotch whisky investment.
Following on from the launch of Johnnie Walker Princes Street later this Summer, Caol Ila Distillery on Islay will be next to reopen in 2022 after its own reimagining, to complete the 'four corners' story. Most recently, the iconic "ghost" distillery of Brora was also reawakened after 38 years and is producing whisky once again as part of the Diageo investment. ■