The BenRiach distillery was opened in 1898, only to be closed 2 years later due to the depression that followed the economic boom. BenRiach was not alone in this at the time, because in the following 10 years around 30 distilleries were forced to close their doors.
It wasn't until 1965 that The Glenlivet distillery was renovated and put back into operation. For a long time, the malts produced were used almost exclusively for blended whisky. Malta bottlings were a rarity and were mostly only available from independent bottlers.
In 2002 the distillery was closed by the then owners until 2004 when Billy Walker, Geoff Bell and Wayne Keiswetter bought BenRiach and since then have helped the now independent distillery to achieve great success.