A look at the Benrinnes Distillery

The History

In 1826 the Benrinnes distillery was first built by Peter Mackenzie however this would not be the only build to take place. The name was taken from the Ben Rinnes hill which it was situated at the foot of. After just three years of operating the distillery was destroyed by a flood and wasn’t rebuilt until a few years later by a gentleman called John Innes at a different location. He renamed the distillery to Lyne of Ruthrie; however, he didn’t have much success as it went bankrupt. William Smith then purchased the mothballed distillery and switched the name back to Benrinnes.

The Benrinnes distillery then got destroyed for a second time as in 1896 it burned down. The distillery laid destroyed for many years but was still under the ownership of Alexander Edward until he sold to John Dewar in 1922. Benrinnes remained derelict until the 1950’s when it was rebuilt by the John Dewar & Sons company. The company were also responsible for closing the malting floors and also halting the triple distilling process.

The Benrinnes distillery is now under Diageo’s control and mainly produces for the blend market.

The Whisky

Due to the lack of official bottlings from the Benrinnes distillery as well as the fact their distillation process changed only 13 years ago, the exact character of their produce isn’t widely documented. However, they are known to be a lighter Speyside whisky with typical floral notes. There are also a fair number of independent bottlings which are similar in flavour profile to their only official bottle of a 15-year-old Flora and Fauna edition. However, some of the independent bottlings have been known to have considerable heat and spice for a Speyside malt as well as possess a ‘meaty’ quality. The vast majority of produce from the Benrinnes distillery goes to the blend industry, predominantly making an appearance in J&B blend as well as Johnnie Walker.