Poit Dhubh. Illicit Still.

The blend of two passions - Gaelic and whisky - and the start of the whisky/ uisge-beatha section of the shop. The idea for this t-shirt stemmed from a discussion with some whisky enthusiasts as to the correct pronunciation of the whisky Ledaig. Ledaig, for those who don't know, is the peated expression from the Isle of Mull's Tobermory distillery. Ledaig, it seems, was the original name for the site of the distillery.

My research lead me to the famous Dwelly Gaelic dictionary and eventually the design you see above. Like most of Scotland's oldest distilleries, Tobermory/ Ledaig was probably an illicit still before it went 'legit'. If you add the Gaelic feminine diminutive 'eag' to An Leid you get 'An Leideag' or 'the small fireplace'. Therefore the correct pronunciation of Ledaig should be something like 'laytchick'.

Clear? If not, pour a dram to enjoy while leafing through Edward Dwelly's magnificent Gaelic dictionary.