Irn Bru - Irn-Bru (pronounced 'Iron Brew') is a popular caffeinated soft drink in the United Kingdom. It is made by A.G. Barr plc, of Glasgow. Barr's Irn-Bru is available in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Russia, Canada, South Africa, much of Europe and in some parts of Australia and Singapore. The original spelling was Iron Brew, and versions from other manufacturers continue to use the older name (see below). It has long been the most popular soft drink in Scotland, outselling even Coca-Cola, but recent fierce competition between the two brands has brought their sales to roughly equal levels (perhaps leaning to Coca-Cola) [1]. This success in defending its home market (a feat claimed only by Irn-Bru, South Australia's Farmers Union Iced Coffee, Peru's Inca Kola and Sweden's Julmust) has led to ongoing speculation that either Coke, or its arch-rival PepsiCo, Inc., would attempt to buy A.G. Barr [2]. Irn-Bru's advertising slogan used to be 'Made in Scotland from girders', though the closest one can come to substantiating this claim is the 0.002% ammonium ferric citrate listed in the ingredients. In certain parts of Scotland, typically the Glasgow/west regions, Irn-Bru is popularly known as 'ginger', although 'ginger' is a term that applies to all carbonated soft drinks in the Glasgow and Lanarkshire areas. Irn-Bru is most famous for its eccentric bright orange colour, making it easily recognisable even when not in its packaging. The 'Iron-Brew' produced by other manufacturers is a similar shade, but merely approximates Irn-Bru in taste. The formula for Irn-Bru is a closely guarded secret, known only by two of Barr's board members. [citation needed] As of 1999 it did contain 0.002% of ammonium ferric citrate, sugar, flavouring agents (including caffeine and quinine) and colouring (E110, E124). It is advertised as having a slight citrus flavour, but many have differing opinions of the exact taste of Irn-Bru. Irn-Bru is widely reputed to be an excellent cure for hangovers. This claim has some foundation in truth — all caffeinated drinks will soothe headaches to an extent, and sugary drinks will replace lost fluids and sugars. It is often used as a mixer with alcoholic beverages — mainly vodka and whisky. Indeed, the popular British alcopop WKD was originally launched as an alcoholic equivalent of Irn-Bru. Barr retaliated by launching a drink combining Irn-Bru and Bell's whisky, though this proved to be unpopular and was quickly discontinued. A later attempt came in the form of an official Irn-Bru flavour in the Red Square line-up of vodka-based drinks; this too has been discontinued. There is now an official Irn-Bru WKD flavour. Irn-Bru and other Barr brands including Pineappleade, Cream Soda, Tizer, Red Kola, Barr Cola, and Limeade are still available in refundable glass bottles. The empty bottles can be returned to any shop which sells them, and theoretically exchanged for the deposit of 20 pence. Many retailers, however, will only offer store credit. Irn-Bru and Diet Irn-Bru are available in the following sizes: * 150ml can * 330ml can * 250ml plastic bottle * 500ml plastic bottle * 1L plastic bottle * 2L plastic bottle * 3L plastic bottle * 355ml glass bottle (in Canada) * 750ml glass bottle (refundable) For restaurants and cafeterias, Irn-Bru syrup is available. Barr also produce Irn-Bru Bars, chewy, fizzy, bright orange bars which taste very strongly of Irn-Bru. Irn-Bru sorbet is available some speciality ice cream shops in Scotland (e.g. Divitos of Crossgates or Janettas of St Andrews, both in Fife and also S. Luca of Musselburgh). The drink was first produced in 1901 under the name Iron-Brew. During World War II the British Government reined in production of 'non-essential' products, causing Iron-Brew to vanish from retailers' shelves until 1946. Around this time there was a move to tighten up legislation on product labelling, in order to make it factually descriptive which ended with legislation being passed that required 0.125g of iron per fluid ounce to any drink bearing the name 'iron brew'. In 1946 Barr registered the new name 'Irn-Bru' for their product. It is unknown whether this was a move to circumvent the labelling laws, as other soft drink manufacturers in Scotland (such as Hays or Sangs), produce their own versions of Iron-Brew and keep the original spelling to this day. In 1972 Barr acquired Tizer Ltd and began producing Irn-Bru at this company's plant in Atherton, near Manchester. This perhaps explains the drink's extraordinary popularity in the northwest region of England[citation needed], compared with other areas (where it does not sell so well, despite heavy marketing). In 1988 Barr acquired Mandora St Clements in Mansfield. Irn-Bru is bottled in Mansfield, along with many other Barr drinks. When McDonald's restaurants first opened for trading in Glasgow they did not serve Irn-Bru. This was seen as an insult by some Scots, and a campaign to correct this oversight was launched. After many of their restaurants were picketed, McDonalds relented and began to stock Irn-Bru alongside their other soft drinks.