If you've been to Scotland, you've seen Irn Bru. You may not have realized what it was that you were looking at, but you had to have seen it. It's everywhere!! You can call Irn Bru a soft drink, but you can also call it a replacement liquid for antifreeze and not be too far off from the truth. OK, I'll be serious for a minute and say I'm joking, I don't really want anyone to use Irn Bru as a replacement for their winterizing, but at the same time, it tastes what I think radiator fluid would actually taste like. NO, I don't have any actual experience with drinking that. No emails, please.
When I first went to Scotland, I naturally wanted to try literally everything that was typically Scottish. All tourists do what tourists do. When someone comes to Oklahoma, they want to see the Zoo, they want to see our football teams, they want to take in a BBQ and a rodeo. It's what you do. So, there I was, in the first convenience store that I happened into, and I saw the bright orange bottle being sold in the soft drink aisle (actually, it was an end cap) and I bought a bottle. To my surprise, the convenience store wasn't like a 7-11 or Quik Trip here, it wasn't that overpriced, and you don't pay the extra 8-9% tax when you get to the register, so the price of 80P was that, 80! Not quite a quid. I don't know what they sell for now.
I didn't pop it open and down it right there; I remember my friends saying it was better when it was cold, so I took it to the hotel and I put it in the little fridge. When I say little fridge, I mean, "Oh. My. Gosh. That's terribly small." I can't shake that part of the UK; it's just there. Tiny, tiny refrigerators. I put the Irn Bru into that box, and I let it sit for a few hours. When I came back from my first day of touring and being a typically obnoxious visitor, probably asking way too many out-of-the-question questions, I decided to settle down with my first authentic bottle of Scotland's "other" national drink. I'm not a whiskey drinker, so this was my jam...except no, it was not.
I was SO underwhelmed by the taste of the favorite drink in my adopted land that I was upset with myself for feeling the way that I felt. I tried it a second time. I thought maybe I had just been...you know, unprepared. Nope. The second time it hit my tastebuds was not any better, and it was this time that I absolutely realized that the sugar content must be something only a toddler would do; but then again, I realized that someone thought it up, someone else agreed, and they made it. They made it, they continue to make it, and they distribute it....everywhere.
I was told that the Irn Bru I had in 1982 is different than the recipe they have now; this is because a man complained about it being bad for the national health of Scotland. This particular man must have some pull; he was popular enough to garner the attention of the powers that be to literally change the recipe to force the A.G. Barr company in Cumberland to dramatically decrease the sugar levels in their own patented soft drink. I don't actually like sugared drinks, and I'm from the South. I don't put sugar in my tea, which I think is actually considered a sin where I come from, but nevertheless, I'm one of the VERY VERY few who would prefer Irn Bru with less sugar. (That is if I could get past the actual taste.)
When in Rome! PLEASE, don't let me discourage you from going to Scotland and trying the Irn Bru. You may love it. You may end up buying so many bottles and trying to get past Customs. I don't know. You may think it's the best thing EVER, but I just think it looks pretty (it's orange), and it should remain sealed and in its little bottle; they have cans too, but you can't see the liquid inside the cans. I think, if I remember my history, that the drink was developed around the same time that Coke was invented, and it may or may not have been used for medicinal purposes. I can see using it to start a campfire...or warding off evil spirits. That being said, the locals say it is the best hang-over drink and that it will bring you straight back to reality!
For years the makers of Irn Bru tried to keep the ingredients a complete secret, but the bigger distributors (mainly the US and Canada) demanded to know the full list of ingredients before allowing it to be sold in our respective countries. I've seen it in a few stores, but I've never stopped and looked at the packaging to see if the ingredients are listed. I do remember reading on the package that the drink could have an adverse effect on children's behavior! WHAT? Yes, that's always good to know; good to share! Gotta love their honesty. If you do try it, and you don't like it, it's OK. No one will be sad about it. No one will try to convince you that you're wrong. You like what you like. If you love it, you could find a few new friends with really cool accents. Just sayin'.
Photo Credit: Walmart.com
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