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Benrinnes whisky distillery

Benrinnes is an aromatic Speyside Whisky, from which there is little standard bottling. If you are looking for a light and inexpensive whisky to get to know the distillery, we recommend the Stronachie 10 years. The whisky is produced in the Benrinnes distillery despite the other name.

Benrinnes Whisky

At the foot of Ben Rinnes mountain, you will find the distillery of the same name.

House style

How does Benrinnes single malt taste? The whisky of Benrinnes is very intense in taste. Cream, smoke, toffee and vanilla-these are the flavors that can be found in many bottlings of this distillery.

Production of Benrinnes whisky

How is Benrinne’s whisky produced?The water for the Benrinnes Single Malt comes from the Scurran and Rowantree Burn. The slightly peelated malt is obtained from Elgin. Benrinnes maischt with an 8.7 ton mash do made of stainless steel and has eight wooden Gärbottiche with a total volume of 332,000 liters. Benrinnes is one of the few distilleries in the Speyside, who distil their malt three times. Today, Benrinnes has 6 steam heated stills, two Wash stills with 22,935 litres each, two Intermediate Stills with 6,364 litres and 2 Spirit stills each with 9,292 litres each. The annual production volume amounts to 3.5 million litres. The first single malt from Benrinnes was bottled in 1991.

History of Benrinnes distillery

Benrinnes was founded in 1826. In 1829 the young distillery was destroyed by a flood, so that most of the buildings were rebuilt in the year 1835 under the name Lyne of Ruthie. In 1842 William Smith took over the distillery and renamed it in Benrinnes. After a station under Davie Edward, the distillery went to John Dewar & Sons in 1922, which later merged with Distillers Company Limited. In the years 1932, 1933, 1943, 1944 and 1945, the company rested. After the war, it went uphill for Benrinnes. In 1951 Benrinnes was shot to the power grid, and in 1964 and in 1966 was considerably expanded. Since 1978 in Benrinnes has been closed three times. Today, Benrinnes comprises part of the Diageo portfolio.

Benrinnes factsheet

Name Pronounced AKA Region
Benrinnes ben*rin*ess Speyside
Country of Origin Status Active Whisky Type
Scotland Active 1826 - Present Malt
Website Tours Available Owned by Parent Group
Benrinnes Not Available Bacardi

Benrinnes equipment & site

Still makerAbercrombie
CondensersWorm tub

What Benrinnes makes

Whisky

  • Benrinnes 15 (Flora & Fauna)

Benrinnes Timeline:

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  1. 1826A reference to Peter McKenzie ’Benrinnes’ has been seen, but this distillery was originally called Lyne of Ruthrie
  2. 1834Started and run by John Innes
  3. 1838John Innes bankrupt
  4. 1838Taken over and name changed to Benrinnes by William Smith & Co.
  5. 1864William Smith & Co. bankrupt
  6. ....Acquired by David Edward & Stuart
  7. 1867David Edward & Stuart dissolved
  8. ....Continued by David Edward
  9. 1896Incorporated as David Edward Ltd.
  10. 1897David Edward Ltd. wound up and converted to the Benrinnes-Glenlivet Distillery Ltd.
  11. 1899Company of Alexander Edward went almost bankrupt due to the collapse of a major customer, Pattison’s of Leith. Production was cut and times remained difficult until 1923
  12. 1922Acquired by John Dewar & Sons Ltd.
  13. 1923Offered for sale
  14. 1925John Dewar & Sons Ltd. merged with the Distillers Company Ltd. (DCL)
  15. 1930Transferred to Scottish Malt Distillers Ltd. (SMD)
  16. 1955-56Largely rebuilt
  17. 1966Extended from three to six stills (triple distillation). Saladin maltings. Licensed to A. & A. Crawford Ltd., Leith
  18. 1991First official Single Malt bottling
  19. 1992Licensed to United Malt & Grain Distillers Ltd. (UMGD)

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Can I tour Benrinnes?

No, unfortunately Benrinnes distillery is not open to the public for tours