The names of most scottish whisky distilleries are determined from their location. Many of these are derived from the Gaelic language and a lot of people find them hard to pronounce. Having heard some very funny attempts at some of the distillery names, here is a guide to tackle some Gaelic pronounciation. Some are easier than others.
Below is a list of some of the trickier ones, with the correct pronounciation in brackets. While it can be confusing, hopefully this will help give you an understanding of the Scottish names.
The distilleries
- Allt–a–Bhainne (olt–a–vane)
- Auchentoshan (ocken–toshun)
- Auchroisk (ar–thrusk)
- Balvenie (bal–vaynee)
- Bruichladdich (brook–laddie)
- Bunnahabhain (boo–na–harvun)
- Caol Ila (kool–eela)
- Caperdonich (kappa–doe–nick)
- Cardhu (kar–doo)
- Clynelish (kline–leesh)
- Craigellachie (craig–ella–key)
- Dailuaine (dal–yewan)
- Edradour (edra–dower)
- Glen Garioch (glen–geery)
- Glenallachie (glen–alla–key)
- Glenfiddich (glen–fiddick)
- Glenglassaugh (glen–glassoff)
- Glenmorangie (glen–morrun–jee)
- Glenugie (glen–oojee)
- Lagavulin (laga–voolin)
- Laphroaig (la–froyg)
- Ledaig (lay–chuck)
- Pittyvaich (pitty–vek)
- Poit Dhubh (posh–doo)
- Strathisla (strath–eye–la)
- Tamdhu (tam–doo)
- Tamnavulin (tamna–voolin)
- Te Bheag (chay–vek)
- Teaninich (teen–inik)
- Tomintoul (tom–in–towel)
- Tullibardine (tully–bar–dee)
Did you know?
The Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005 was passed by the Scottish Parliament with a view to securing the status of the Gaelic language as an official language of Scotland commanding equal respect to the English language.
Results from the 2011 Census have shown that the total number of people recorded as being able to speak and/or read and/or understand Gaelic was 87,056. Of these, 58,000 people (1.1% of the population) aged three and over in Scotland were able to speak Gaelic
The Scottish Government recognises that Gaelic is an integral part of Scotland’s heritage, national identity and current cultural life, and has great potential as an asset for adding economic and social value.
The modern Scottish Gaelic alphabet has 18 letters: a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, l, m, n, o, p, r, s, t, u.
https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-governments-gaelic-language-plan-2022-2027
