The distillery was built in 1895 by Benrinnes-owner Alexander Edward, who sited it just north of Keith in the heart of Speyside. Just two years later, the company was under the management of Oban & Aultmore Glenlivet Distilleries Ltd and production was greatly increased with the addition of a steam engine to power the facilities – in fact the distillery would employ the ten horsepower steam engine twenty-four hours a day for the next seventy years.