80-year-old Buckfast... it’s the perfect antidote to depression

IT has long been associated with problem drinking and violence.

But a bottle of Buckfast discovered in an attic after almost a century shows that the controversial tonic wine was once marketed as a cure for depression and insomnia.

Jonathan Porter stumbled across the miniature bottle while he was clearing out his parents’ loft in Glasgow.

The 33-year-old contacted the drink’s distributor, J Chandler & Co, which confirmed it was made at least 83 years ago.

The bottle, pictured, has since attracted bids in excess of £1,000 from collectors after Mr Porter put it up for sale online.

The wine, made by monks at Buckfast Abbey in Devon, has consistently been linked to crime in parts of Scotland.

However, the label on the 1930s bottle claims the potent drink is a cure for depression, insomnia and pregnancy pains.

Mr Porter, whose grandparents ran an off-licence in Muirend, Glasgow, said: ‘I was helping my dad to tidy up his attic and I found a box with lots of random things from the shop, this included.’

Mr Porter has listed the item on online auction site eBay.

He advertised it as a ‘truly timeless gift for collectors and lovers of all things Buckfast’. But he warned: ‘Obvious piece of advice, do not drink it.’

Stewart Wilson, of J Chandler & Co, said: ‘From the picture of Mr Porter’s bottle we were able to establish a rough time scale of when production was.’