Scotland, Speyside: Single malt whisky through the producing distilleries: history, making, production and tasting notes
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Benrinnes

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The distillery

Benrinnes Distillery
Aberlour,
Banffshire AB38 9WN
+44 1340 871 215
Owner :United Distillers & Vintners (Diageo)
Creation date1826

The first distillery has been build in 1826 near the Whitehouse farm, which still exists nowadays. The distillery has been destroyed in 1829 by a flood coming from the Ben Rinnes mountain, and rebuild near another farm not far away from the first one. This farm was called Lyne of Rutherie, and the distillery was first named after this farm. Peter McKenzie was the first licence holder of this distillery.
In 1842, the distillery was taken over by John Innes, and in 1845 by William Smith who bankrupted in 1864. John Innes renamed the distillery in "Benrinnes". After the bankruptcy the distillery has been acquired by Davie Edward who passed it on to his son Alexander. Alexander Edwards will later found Craigellachie and Aultmore, and be a shareholder of Oban .
A fire destroyed the still house and surrounding buildings in 1996.
Alexander Edward founded the Benrinnes-Glenlivet company.
In 1922, the distillery has been taken over by John Dewar's & Sons, who were absorbed by DCL which is currently part of UDV.
Benrinnes has been closed in 1932-1933 and again between 1943 and 1945.
The distillery has been linked to the electrical network in 1951.
A new distillery has been build in 1955 in order to increase the production. The malting floors are replaced by a saladin-box in 1964. The saladin box has been removed in 1984, as the distillery stopped producing its own malt. In 1966 the number of stills has been doubled, and a new manufacturing process is introduced in 1978. The Benrinnes distillery is the only one of the area to use the triple distillation process.
The feints and low wines of the second distillation (in the first spirit still) are distilled apart in the second spirit still. Usually they are part of the next wash distillation. The low wines and feints of this third distillation are distilled again during the next distillation in the second spirit still.

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The whisky

The sites below offer tasting notes for this distillery. Please click on the logo to access this notes.

France whisky-distilleries www.whisky-distilleries.info
Passionnés du malt passionnesdumalt.free.fr
Comaw Club o. mosellan des amateurs de whisky
English whisky-distilleries www.whisky-distilleries.info
Whiskyfun www.whisky-fun.com
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Geography

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Speyside

Speyside Map

The Speyside area is situated at the North of the Cairngorm mountain and goes to the Moray firth. It is delimited by two rivers: the Findhorn at the West side and the Deveron on the East side.
The area is named after the river Spey. Most of the distilleries take their water in one of its affluents; the Fiddich, the Livet or the Avon.
About sixty distilleries from Speyside are described on this site.

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Click on the map for a list of the distilleries of the area, on the title for further information
about the Speyside area, and if you want to make an "alphabetical journey" through the area, please
click on one of the pagode roofs, according to the direction you want to follow

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Photos of the distillery

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