A superb Japan only release from the wonderful Whisky-e, and distilled in Speyside by Benrinnes. The original Benrinnes was sited almost a mile south-east of today's distillery. Built on the Whitehouse Farm in 1826 by Peter McKenzie, the distillery was completely destroyed just three years later, after a great flood laid waste to the buildings. In 1835, a new distillery was built, sited on the side of its namesake - the 840m peak which looms over Speyside. Alongside four other distilleries, Benrinnes draws its water from springs on the mountain, tapping the Rowantree and Scurran Burns. Following a devastating fire at the end of the nineteenth century, Benrinnes was rebuilt, converting to electric power. The distillery has an unusual distillation method; the six stills are used to partially triple-distil the make. Benrinnes made use of a Saladin Box malting system from 1964. In 1984, it was decommissioned and malt was bought in instead. Despite the long history of Benrinnes, there has only been one official bottling - in 1991 a fifteen year-old was released. Save for a few independent bottlings, the majority of the spirit has been used in blends - notably Johnnie Walker and J&B. Today, single malt whiskies from Benrinnes remain a rare treat. The distillery is currently under Diageo ownership.