10 things you never knew about Scotland’s 'other' National drink, Irn-Bru.

Irn-Bru is Scotland’s leading soft drink and is as much a part of Scotland as kilts and haggis. The vibrant, orange colored drink is instantly recognizable to locals but may not be very well known to visitors. The unique soft drink was launched in 1901 by the AG Barr family from their premises in Glasgow. The closely guarded secret recipe is made up of 32 different flavors and has been described as tasting like bubble gum or cream soda. You owe it to yourself to try Scotland’s “other national drink (after whisky)”.

Here are some little-known facts about this iconic drink:

1. In 1901 steel and iron workers working on the rebuilding of Glasgow’s Central Station were drinking too much beer to quench their thirst. So, a local soft drinks manufacturer, AG Barr, was hired to produce a beverage that would provide the workers with enough caffeine and sugar to make it through their long day. Iron Brew was born, and it quickly developed a reputation of getting Scots through tough situations, including hangovers.

2. Only three people at the company know the secret recipe. It is passed down from family member to family member upon retirement or death. When CEO Robin Barr retired in 2007, he announced he would still be mixing the ingredients even though he would no longer be involved in any other aspect of the business. Only one nonfamily member is privy to the secret - they are on the board of directors and their identity is kept strictly confidential. The three persons are not allowed to fly on a plane together in case of an accident.

3. Irn-Bru is the best-selling soft drink in Scotland, even outselling Coke and Pepsi. Scotland is one of the few countries in the world where Coke is not number one, the other countries being Iceland, Peru, and parts of the Middle East. It is said that Barr’s sell 20 cans of Irn Bru every second. Originally sold only in bottles, Irn Bru started bottling the drink in cans from 1974.

4. Irn-Bru really does contain iron. True to its origin as a drink for iron workers, the recipe contains 0.002 per cent ammonium ferric citrate listed among its ingredients – which is a food additive containing iron hydroxide. An award-winning ad campaign from 2007 contained the tagline “Made in Scotland- from Girders”.

5. Irn-Bru is exported to countries around the world including Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Poland, Malta, Greece, Cyprus and parts of Africa, North America, Asia, the Middle East and Australasia. However, the largest export market is Russia. Sales there started in 1998 after it was discovered that it tastes very similar to a Soviet era soft drink that was discontinued.

6. Irn-Bru has its very own tartan featuring the distinctive orange and blue color scheme. The Barr family had their own tartan designed as far back as 1969, but the pattern was re-designed in 1997 and registered as Irn Bru Tartan with the Scottish Tartans Society on 12th September 1997.

7. The original name of the drink was “Iron Brew” when it first launched in 1901. However, in 1946, new food labelling amendments were passed making it illegal to use a name that was not literally true. The drink did have iron in it, but it was not brewed, it was mixed. So, to get around this new law, the vowels were dropped and Irn-Bru was born. The new name was registered on 18th July 1946.

8. The ‘World’s Largest Horse’ once worked for Irn-Bru. The Barr family used Clydesdales to pull their flat top lorries for deliveries. These horses are known the world over for their strength and have historically been used by other companies such as Carlsberg beer to pull large loads. Clydesdale Carnera was a famous sight and instantly recognizable weighing in at a ton and standing over 19 hands (6 foot 6 inches). Carnera was the world’s largest working horse in the 1930’s. He died tragically in 1937 while pulling a lorry in Falkirk.

9. The original Strongman logo, known as the “Highland Athlete” was based on a real person, Adam Brown. Adam competed in many Highland Games as a weightlifter while being the face of Irn Bru. Tragically he died at 54, after working in the coal mines for a prolonged period. He was replaced as the representative of Irn-Bru in 1922 with caber tosser Alex Munro.

10. An American company claims to have made the original IRONBREW drink as early as 1889. The company, Maas & Waldenstein Extract Co., called it the “Ideal American Drink” in their early advertisements and it claimed to have various health benefits. The AG Barr company acknowledges that there may have been other drinks called IRONBREW but they allege that no one has the same secret recipe for the flavor essence and therefore Irn Bru is uniquely Scottish in origin.