The Cardrona Single Malt Whisky Now Available in the U.S.
New Zealand’s Cardrona Distillery has announced Hotaling & Co. as the exclusive U.S. importer of The Cardrona Single Malt Whisky and The Reid Vodka.
Founded in 2015 by Desiree Reid, Cardrona Distillery is crafting grain-to-glass spirits with locally sourced ingredients, all made from a base of malted barley, pristine alpine water, and distiller’s yeast. Cardrona was acquired by International Beverage in 2023.
The Cardrona Single Malt Whisky combines South Island-grown malted barley, pristine alpine water, and a traditional hands-on distillation process. Aged in the climate of the Cardrona Valley, the whisky matures in hand-selected ex-sherry, ex-pinot noir, and/or ex-bourbon casks and is presented with non-chill filtration and natural color. Currently, three solera-aged expressions that serve as ‘progress reports’ are available in the U.S.: The Cardrona “Just Hatched,” The Cardrona “Growing Wings,” and The Cardrona “Full Flight,” each with a suggested retail price of $120 for a 375 mL bottle.
The Reid is a single malt vodka crafted from the same malted barley, pristine alpine water, and distiller’s yeast as The Cardrona Single Malt Whisky. After a 70-hour fermentation, The Reid is distilled on a pair of Jacob Carl column stills and cut down to 44% ABV prior to bottling without chill- nor charcoal-filtration. The Reid is described as exhibiting “delicate notes of pear drops, lemon, toffee, and malt biscuits on the nose with a weighted and balanced palate.” The Reid has a suggested retail price of of $90 for a 750 mL bottle.
The Cardrona Single Malt Whisky and The Reid Vodka are now available in California, Illinois, New York, and Nevada, with additional markets expected to follow later this year.
Source: Cardrona Distillery.