Pràban is the only whisky company
headquartered on the Isle of Skye, an island off the northwest coast
of Scotland where Gaelic is still widely spoken. The word 'whisky' comes from
the Gaelic phrase 'uisge beatha', meaning 'water of life'. As the Gaels
originally invented whisky, ours are genuinely authentic. From the
beginning they have been labelled in Gaelic which sets them apart, and so they
soon came to be called "The Gaelic Whiskies". In Skye they say "having Gaelic
on the label greatly improves the flavour"!
Pràban na Linne means "a smugglers den by the Sound of
Sleat". Our headquarters are situated on the small private harbour of Eilean
Iarmain looking over the water towards the mainland hills of Scotland. Sleat is
a parish in the south of Skye which is famous in history, known as "Lios an
Eilean" ("the Garden of Skye") and also as "Sleite riamhach nam ban boidheach"
("brindled Sleat of the beautiful women"). It is mentioned frequently in
ancient Gaelic poetry.
Our aim is to provide value for money for the
knowledgeable whisky connoisseur. Our prices, however, are not much
above ordinary everyday whiskies, which means anyone can afford them.
The Company was founded in 1976 by Sir Iain Noble of
Eilean Iarmain as part of a project to create employment in the south of Skye,
as so many young people were then leaving. The business has grown steadily, its reputation spread by word of mouth.
Today ours is one of the few remaining family
businesses in the Scotch whisky industry. We compete against the Goliaths. Our
main markets are Scotland and England, France, Holland, Italy and Canada. We
are also represented in Switzerland, Japan, Denmark, Sweden and
Russia.
