Scotland's Other National Drink

Article by: Lou McGregor, September 2005

Launched in 1901, Barr's new beverage was originally called ‘Iron-Brew’, but labelling regulations forced a change of spelling to ‘Irn-Bru’ in 1946, as the drink itself only contains 0.002% ammonium ferric citrate. This also blew their advertisement 'Barr's Irn-Bru made in Scotland from girders' out of the water (although it does say something about a nation's psyche if they see a drink made from girders as a viable, tasty thing.)

Scots swear by its efficacy as a cure for hangovers, which may account for its massive sales

Scots swear by its efficacy as a cure for hangovers, which may account for its massive sales. Other parts of the world might swear by a hair-of-the-dog or an icy cold Coke with a bacon sandwich to get you over the hangover hurdle, but in Scotland it's Irn-Bru with a deep-fried Mars Bar that'll have you come up smiling.

Sampling Irn-Bru is an essential experience during a visit to Scotland and ordering a vodka Irn-Bru will win you major points with the locals. The irony is that it's the very drink you are mixing the vodka with that you will rely on to get you over the hangover it gave you in the first place.

In recent years Barr’s have begun to build their brand overseas, exporting the quirky, humorous and award-winning advertising campaign that positions Irn-Bru drinkers as mischievous and rascally. It has managed to spread its cheeky appeal to small niche corners of the world, albeit mostly in some Scottish folk's backpacks but more often in specialty stores catering to the homesick and hungover.

Ordering a vodka Irn-Bru will win you major points with the locals

For the Scottish, Irn-Bru is not merely a drink, another product on the supermarket shelves. It is a proudly Scottish owned addiction, a hangover cure and a way of life. As a mate of mine - an English convert - said: "I just walked past the Water of Leith and saw an Irn-Bru bottle floating next to an empty bottle of whisky. It was like the comedian and the sidekick. I hoped they'd been drunk by the same person, one 12 hours after the other. I'd like to know there was someone hungover but happy out there."