The BenRiach distillery was founded in 1898 by John Duff. The Benriach (meaning speckled mountain) lies in the heart of the Speyside between the Town Rothes and the city Elgin in Scotland. Unfortunately for Duff, he chooses to open Benriach in the very year of the biggest economic crash the Whisky market has ever seen, also known as the Pattison Crash. In 1900 the distillery ceased production due to a slow whisky economy. But the distillery remained partially opened because It continued to produced malt for the Longmorn Distillery. Then in 1965, the Benriach distillery was acquired by the Glenlivet Distillery Ltd. during a new period when Scotch Whisky was enjoying a hearty revival, a Golden Age of sorts.

Glenlivet sold Benriach on to Seagram in 1977, who went on to install a second set of stills (wash & spirit) in 1985. In 1994 Benriach launches its first single malt: Having previously been used in blends, Benriach single malt was released for the first time as a 10-year-old. 

Chivas bought the Benriach distillery in 2001 - but closed the distillery in 2002, almost immediately after they acquired it.  Fortunately, Scotsman Billy Walker (a former operations manager with Burn Stewart) and two South African partners (Geoff Bell and Wayne Kieswetter) purchased Benriach in 2003. They turned Benriach into a thriving distillery again. The new owners wasted no time. They resumed production in that very same year and then quickly launched the new 12, 16 and 20 year old expressions of Benriach. They also took the opportunity to redesign the company logo (capitalizing the R) and the packaging of the bottles.

In 2012, BenRiach celebrates its heritage by reopening floor maltings: As the distillery continued to grow, the decision was made to reopen the onsite floor maltings at BenRiach for a limited time in the annual production, a time of year we now refer to as Malting Season. 

In 2015, Having established a new portfolio of classic, peated and triple distilled whiskies matured in an eclectic range of cask types, BenRiach was awarded Global Whisky Distiller of the year by the Icons of Whisky Awards, a huge honour given the small scale of the distillery on the global stage.

In 2016, BenRiach was purchased by Brown Forman, an American based spirits company that has been responsible for building fine quality beverage alcohol brands for over 150 years. Remaining true to the creative heritage of the distillery, BenRiach launched a new portfolio and packaging design in September 2020. The distillery is still thriving, with Rachel Barrie, Master Blender at Morrison Bowmore, taking the helm.