The original distillery at Benrinnes was built in 1826 and run as part of a farm by owner Peter Mackenzie. However, the buildings were destroyed in a flood in 1829, just three years into the nascent distillery's life. Rebuilding took place in 1834/5, since when production has been pretty much constant apart from two short spells of silence in the 1930s and 1940s. This was despite assorted deaths and bankruptcies for the various owners throughout the rest of the 19th century and a major fire in 1896 which necessitated major rebuilding work, at which time electricity was installed at the distillery.

Benrinnes was now owned by Alexander Edward, who also founded Craigellachie, Dallas Dhu and Aultmore, as well as buying Oban. Edward sold up to John Dewar & Sons in 1922, three years before Dewar's absorption by Distillers Company Ltd (DCL,now a part of Diageo). Control was transferred to DCL subsidiary Scottish Malt Distillers (SMD) in 1930. The distillery was completely rebuilt in the mid 1950s, and a Saladin box malting system was installed in 1964, running until 1984. The number of stills was increased from three to six in 1966.