Scottish products like whisky and haggis are not the only ones that have risen to fame across the globe, Scotland’s ‘other national drink’ Irn Bru has also taken centre stage.
Revered as an iconic Scottish beverage, most Scots claim they couldn’t live without the orange carbonated drink with some stating that it’s the number one hangover cure.
In fact, the fizzy drink is so popular here that when a recipe change was announced in 2018 Scottish stores witnessed a frenzy of panic buying to purchase the original recipe before it was modified.
In celebration of Irn-Bru’s legacy and it becoming such a massively popular choice of drink, here are 16 facts you (probably) didn’t know about it.
5. It's not made "from Girders" but it DOES contain iron
Irn Bru's iconic tagline "Made in Scotland from girders" was used to sell it for many years back in the 80's. This was thought to be in reference to the 'rusty' colour of the drink. However, it turns out that Irn Bru does contain 0.0002% ammonium ferric citrate which is a food additive containing iron hydroxide. Photo: Mike Pennington via Wikimedia Commons
6. Irn Bru contained alcohol (teeny tiny amounts)
In 2005, a rumour circulated in the Scottish Muslim community that Irn Bru contained alcohol, which would make it impossible for them to continue enjoying the drink. AG Barr went on to confirm that it did contain trace amounts of alcohol but it was so little such that it was dubbed "negligible", allowing the Muslim community to continue their consumption of it. Photo: oleksandranaumenko via Canva Pro
7. Irn Bru has its very own tartan
Irn Bru's own tartan was originally designed in 1969 as the 'Barr tartan' and was updated in the 90's with a redesign by Kinloch Anderson that saw its name changed to 'Irn-Bru tartan'. It has since been registered with the Scottish Tartans Society. Photo: Picture: National Records of Scotland
8. Canada banned Irn Bru in 2014
Back in 2014 Irn Bru was banned from Canada due to its contained additives. However, this ban has since been lifted. Photo: ilipefrazao via Canva Pro