Irn-Bru

OK, so it may not be made from girders (although it does contain around 0.002% iron hydroxide), and its taste may once have been memorably described as “a bubbling Highland stream mixed with casual violence”, but Irn-Bru’s place in the nation’s affections has long been assured. The iconic fizzy drink’s beginnings are said to stretch back to 1901, when it was reportedly created for the thirsty construction workers of Glasgow Central Station, who had until then been rather too fond of daytime beer-drinking. Originally named Iron Brew, it was off-sale during WWII, after which new labelling regulations meant it had to change its name to Irn-Bru. Whatever the truth – and whisper it, but there’s even sacrilegious talk that a separate beverage known as Iron Brew was created in New York way back in 1889 – the bright orange pop has become a bona fide national phenomenon. More popular than Coke? You’d better believe it.