The story of BenRiach is typical of the great Speyside distilleries. Built in 1898, the distillery is sited amongst the rolling barley fields that rise to the foothills of the Grampian Mountains. The barley used in crafting the whisky was grown around the distillery and the water was, and still is, drawn through the rock that lies deep below the distillery. The barley, harvested from the fields surrounding the distillery, would be spread across the floors of the malting loft to germinate.The BenRiach Distillery was established by John Duff in 1898, close to the Longmorn Distillery which was also owned by Duff. The distilleries were joined by a private railroad, with a private steam locomotive, the Puggy, to transport coal, barley, peat and barrels between them. In 1900 the distillery stopped production in the wake of the bankruptcy of Pattison's whisky, a major Scotch Whisky purchaser.
Only BenRiachs maltings remained in active use, producing malt for Longmorn. It didn't produce spirit again until 1965 when it was reopened by Glenlivet Distillers Ltd. In 1978 the distillery changed hands, this time to Seagrams. Seagrams became part of Pernod Ricard in 2001 and the BenRiach distillery began operating for just three months of every year. In 2004 the distillery was acquired by an independent consortium, the BenRiach Distillery Company Limited.
The BenRiach Distillery Company Ltd went on to acquire two more distilleries; the Glendronach in 2008, and Glenglassaugh in 2013. The distilleries are now in the hands of the Brown-Forman Corporation after Benriach Distillery Co. Ltd. was bought out in 2016.Show more