Acquired by the Japanese group Nikka in 1989, the Ben Nevis distillery had previously been, under the ownership of Joseph W. Hobbs in 1955, one of the few distilleries in Scotland to operate both traditional pot stills and a Coffey-style column still. When the site was purchased by Long John Distillers in 1981, the Coffey stills were subsequently removed.

Although most of its whisky is matured in ex-sherry casks, a number of ex-bourbon cask bottlings have recently emerged on the independent market. It is also worth noting that the distillery was mothballed for six years at the end of the 1970s, and again in 1984 and from 1986 to 1989.