Benrinnes was built by Peter Mackenzie in 1826 at the bottom of the Ben Rinnes hill. Three years after the founding, the distillery was destroyed by a flood. A few years later it was rebuilt by John Innes and renamed as Lyne of Ruthrie. Later the distillery went bankrupt and was sold to William Smith who named it back to Benrinnes.

In the 1950s it was rebuilt and renovated by the John Dewar & Sons company, who ended the farming at Benrinnes and closed the malting floors. In 2007 the triple distillation process was shut down and all the small stills were used as spirit stills. Today the distillery is owned by Diageo and produces mostly for the blend industry.