Benrinnes was first built in 1826 at Whitehouse Farm (Speyside) by Peter Mackenzie, before being rebuilt at another site three years later following a flood. After changing hands several times, with owners including Alexander Edward—also the owner or joint owner of Craigellachie, Aultmore, Dallas Dhu and Oban—it became part of Distillers Company Limited in the 1920s. The new managers modernized the distillery and increased its production capacity. In 1974, it began using partial triple distillation, as at Mortlach, leading to a whisky with an animal-like character. This technique was abandoned in 2007. The Benrinnes single malt for a long time remained in the shadows, with no official bottling. It is found in the Flora and Fauna series and in independent bottlings.

A Benrinnes 19 year old bottled in the 1980s for Sestante. Founded in 1977 in Parma by Ernesto Mainardi, Sestante is an Italian bottler and importer. Formerly working for Co. Import, Mainardi began working for himself after meeting George Urquhart of Gordon & MacPhail, from whom he began importing bottlings. He launched his own selections in 1985, in two versions, one cask strength and the other under cask strength. Sestante and Silver Seal, the other business Mainardi founded in 2000, were sold in 2010 to Massimo Righi, owner of Whisky Antique.