Buckfast Tonic Wine

Buckfast Tonic Wine is a caffeinated alcoholic drink consisting of pure caffeine added to fortified wine, originally made by monks at Buckfast Abbey in Devon, England, now made under a licence granted by the monastery, and distributed by J. Chandler & Company in Great Britain, James E McCabe Ltd in Northern Ireland, and Richmond Marketing Ltd in Ireland. It is based on a traditional recipe from France. The wine's distributor reported record sales of £43.2 million as of March 2017.

Despite being marketed as a tonic, Buckfast has become notorious in some parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland for its association with ned culture and antisocial behaviour. High retail sales are recorded in Lurgan, as well as throughout the Central Lowlands including Glasgow and the surrounding areas of East Kilbride, Hamilton, Blantyre, South Lanarkshire, Cambuslang, and Coatbridge.

History

The wine, which is still manufactured using many of the same ingredients, is based on a traditional recipe from France. The Benedictine monks at Buckfast Abbey first made the tonic wine in the 1890s. It was originally sold in small quantities as a medicine using the slogan "Three small glasses a day, for good health and lively blood".

In 1927, the Abbey lost its licence to sell wine. As a result, the Abbot allowed wine merchants to distribute on behalf of the Abbey. At the same time, the recipe was changed to be less of a patent medicine and more of a medicated wine.

The wine, which comes in distinct brands depending on the market, has achieved popularity in working class, student, and bohemian communities in the United Kingdom and Ireland. In the Republic of Ireland, Buckfast is packaged in a darker bottle, has a slightly lower alcoholic strength, and lacks the vanillin flavouring present in the British version. Buckfast sold in Northern Ireland (where it has been nicknamed "Lurgan champagne") is the same as that sold in the rest of the UK.

Versions

Buckfast contains 15% alcohol in the 750 ml green-bottled UK version, and 14.8% in the brown-bottled Republic of Ireland version, which equates to roughly 11.25 UK units of alcohol.

Both versions of the drink contain phosphate and glycerophosphate (each of these as the sodium and/or potassium salt).

The "brown bottle" Buckfast sold in Ireland has a caffeine content about equal to a strong espresso coffee (60 mg/100 ml) and higher than Red Bull (32 mg/100 ml) whereas the UK-sold "green bottle" Buckfast has a caffeine content about equal to strong black tea (30 mg/100 ml).

;Buckfast Tonic Wine (brown bottle)
Sold exclusively within the Republic of Ireland.

* Fortified wine, 14.8% alcohol
* Sodium and potassium glycerophosphates – both measured at 0.65% w/v
* Disodium phosphate
* Caffeine – 0.055% w/v
* Sulphite preservatives

;Buckfast Tonic Wine (green bottle)
Sold in the United Kingdom.

* Fortified wine based aperitif, 15% v/v.
* Sodium glycerophosphate, an emulsifier.
* Dipotassium phosphate, a protein stabiliser
* Disodium phosphate, a stabiliser and emulsifier.
* Caffeine, 0.0375%w/v
* Vanillin

Antisocial image

In certain parts of Scotland, Buckfast is associated with drinkers who are prone to committing anti-social behaviour when drunk, especially drinkers under 18 years old. The drink also has a very high caffeine content, with each 750 ml bottle containing the equivalent of eight cans of cola. It has been suggested that this may cause it to act as a stimulant at the same time as removing inhibitions, self-control and a feeling of having drunk enough, though research into similar drinks have failed to find clear evidence for the latter effect. A diet of four bottles a day has been described as 'not conducive to a long life' in a Scottish court.

The beverage has entered the popular lexicon with nicknames such as "Wreck the Hoose Juice", "Commotion Lotion", "Cumbernauld Rocket Fuel", "Mrs. Brown", "Buckie Baracas", "Coatbridge Table Wine", and a bottle of "what the hell are you looking at?" It has also earned the unofficial slogan, "Buckfast: gets you fucked fast". The drink's prominence within the "Buckfast/Buckie Triangle" – an area east of Glasgow between Airdrie, Coatbridge and Bellshill – has raised concern. In addition, the glass bottle has been blamed for allegedly contributing to litter and providing drunkards with a weapon.

Several Scottish politicians and social activists have singled out Buckfast Tonic Wine as being particularly responsible for crime, disorder, and general social deprivation in these communities. Although Buckfast accounts for only 0.5% of alcohol sales in Scotland, the figure is markedly higher in Lanarkshire. There have been numerous calls for the drink to be banned (either throughout the country or in certain areas or shops), made more expensive to dissuade people from buying the product, or sold in plastic bottles to reduce glassing incidents. Helen Liddell, former Secretary of State for Scotland, called for the wine to be banned. In 2005, Scottish Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson suggested that retailers should stop selling the wine. On a subsequent visit to Auchinleck within her constituency, she was greeted by teenagers chanting, "Don't ban Buckie". All of these initiatives have been countered by lawyers acting for Buckfast distributors, J. Chandler & Company, in Andover. A further consequence was that Buckfast sales increased substantially in the months following Jamieson's comments.

In September 2006, Andy Kerr, the Scottish Executive's Health Minister, described the drink as "an irresponsible drink in its own right" and a contributor to anti-social behaviour. The distributors denied the claims and accused him of showing "bad manners" and a "complete lack of judgement" regarding the drink. Kerr met with J. Chandler & Company to discuss ways of lessening Buckfast's impact on west Scotland but the talks broke up without agreement. Three months later, Jack McConnell, First Minister of Scotland, stated that Buckfast had become "a badge of pride amongst those who are involved in antisocial behaviour." In response the distributors accused the Scottish Executive of trying to avoid having to deal with the consequences of failed social policy and the actual individuals involved in antisocial behaviour by blaming it on the drinks industry."

In January 2010, a BBC
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