The Other COP-26 Debate: Irn-Bru - Is It Revitalizing & Delicious Or Sweetened Mouthwash?

[hatrack]

Last edited Sat Nov 6, 2021, 09:28 AM - Edit history (1)

Aongside a post-work dram of whisky and a lunchtime haggis, delegates at Cop26 have been getting acquainted with another Scottish delicacy: Irn-Bru. Gleaming mounds of the rust-coloured drink are on sale throughout the SEC convention centre in Glasgow, and it has proved a hit with people from all corners of the planet – and a miss with others.

The Zimbabwean presidential spokesperson got the party started on Monday, sharing a picture reportedly showing members of the delegation emerging from a Glasgow Costco with trolleys full of Irn-Bru and alcohol for an event that evening. The drink, which Donald Trump banned from his luxury golf resort in Turnberry in 2018, also has a new fan from the South Pacific. Dreli Solomon, a negotiator from Vanuatu, has drunk the orange fizzy drink twice a day since he first tried it. “It’s my first time in Scotland. I’ve never seen this drink before. I’ve tasted it and I am hooked on it,” he said, enjoying a can over lunch in the Cop26 food hall. “It’s boosting me, giving me adrenaline. I like it.”

EDIT

Irn-Bru – often referred to as Scotland’s other national drink – first hit the shelves in 1901 to satisfy the thirst of steel workers working on the Glasgow Central station who were drinking too much beer, according to the legend carried by its manufacturer, AG Barr.

The bright orange combination of 32 flavours alongside a number of other ingredients, including aspartame and caffeine, has been heavily debated in Scotland ever since. To some, it is reminiscent of fizzy bubblegum. Others have dismissed it as sweetened mouthwash. At Cop26, the argument continued this week. “In the Rwandan delegation, we were asking what it was. Is it lemonade? Is it cola? Is it alcohol? It’s not even written what it is. I don’t understand it,” said Malaika Doucelline Rousseau while drinking her first ever Irn-Bru in the canteen. “There is only this brand. I don’t understand why no Coca-Cola, no Fanta. It’s not very good. It’s like water with a strong sugar taste with a little bit of flavour,” she said.

EDIT

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/05/cop26s-big-question-is-irn-bru-any-good

[Haggard Celine]

1. Is it Im-bru or Irn-bru (IRN-bru)?

It's hard to tell the difference between the lowercase IRN and the lowercase IM, which is something I hate about this font.

[hatrack]

2. You're right - after all these years, the only thing I dislilke here is the font . . .