Recent Articles

Irn Bru

See discussion page for comments about russians being alcoholics - Bong

Irn Bru is the most popular caffeinated soft drink in Scotland. It is made by A.G. Barr plc, of Glasgow. Barr's Irn Bru is available throughout the British Isles, Russia and Canada. Its advertising slogan used to be "Made in Scotland from Girders", although the closest one can come to substantiating this claim is the 0.02% ferric citrate listed in the ingredients (although this could also be seen as a pun on the name of the manufacturer: Barr). In Scotland, it is even more popular than Coca-Cola.

The drink was first produced in 1901 under the name Iron Brew. Other soft drink manufacturers in Scotland, such as Hays or Sangs, produce their own versions of Iron Brew and keep the original spelling, but only Barr, the major vendor, changed to the phonetic spelling in 1946 ostensibly to circumvent government regulations on product naming.

Irn Bru is most famous for its eccentric bright orange colour, making it easily recognisable even when not in its packaging. Other, similarly orange, drinks are available (often called 'Iron Brew') but none taste even similar to the original drink (its formula is a closely-guarded secret, known only by two of Barr's board members).

Due to its high caffeine content, it is widely reputed to be an excellent cure for hangovers, although dentists frequently scorn the drink as its high sugar content is widely cited as a reason for Glasgow's dismal dental health record.

Rather surprisingly, it also makes an excellent mixer with vodka, which may explain why it sells more in Russia (a country in which vodka is an extremely popular drink) than Scotland (although this information may be out of date, and the fact that Russia's population is 20 times that of Scotland may just be a contributing factor).

In 1972 Barr acquired Tizer Ltd and began producing Irn Bru at this company's plant in Atherton, near Manchester. This perhaps explains the drink's extraordinary popularity in the northwest region of England, compared with other areas (where it does not sell so well, despite heavy marketing).

When McDonald's restaurants first opened for business in Glasgow they did not serve Irn Bru. This was seen as an insult by some Scots, who picketed many restaurants until McDonald's relented.

Irn Bru's advertising campaigns have always been very different to those of other commercial soft drinks. Perhaps the best-remembered are the long running series of television and billboard adverts in black-and-white, including the billboard with the grim reaper saying "Don't be scared. You'll still get Irn Bru on the other side." and the supposed-advert for a cleaning product called "Jef", which consists of a small boy in a box, who sucks Irn Bru stains out of clothes.

Irn Bru and other Barr brands including Tizer, Red Kola, Barr Cola and Limeade are still available in refundable glass bottles. The current conversion rate is 1 Full bottle (75p) for 3.75 Empty Bottles (20p a bottle).