It cannae be true! Irn-Bru isn’t Scottish, it’s American

IN terms of Scottish icons, it’s up there with haggis and bagpipes.

But it seems that Irn-Bru – the vividly orange fizzy pop – is not so Caledonian after all.

Researchers claim the drink’s roots lie in america. to make matters worse, it is said an english firm invented the iconic strongman image, a version of which features on Irn-Bru today.

David Leishman, who researched the history of the drink – owned by Cumbernauld-based firm aG Barr, said it became ‘Scottish through branding and advertising rather than being invented in Scotland’. the Scot, who teaches at Grenoble alpes University in France, discovered the first Iron Brew drink was launched in 1889.

and the drink, sold as ‘Ironbrew’ by New York-based firm Maas & Waldstein, was initially described as the ‘ideal american drink’.

It was first sold in the UK by Stevenson & Howell in 1898, with the London-based firm registering the strongman trademark.

However, when aG Barr began selling the drink they used their own ‘secret recipe’.