BRITAIN: Invented by Benedictine monks in Devon, southwest England, it was originally feted for its medicinal properties. But such is the concern about Buckfast tonic wine and its popularity with binge drinkers that a Scottish minister will today meet the drink's distributors to discuss the social problems it is being blamed for.
Scottish health minister Andy Kerr will hold talks with representatives of the company which distributes the wine on behalf of the Roman Catholic monks of Buckfast Abbey. He will try to find out why the drink, which he has described as "seriously bad", is such a favourite, especially with young people in some deprived areas of Scotland.
Distributors J Chandler & Co reject criticisms of the drink, saying politicians should attack the root of problem drinking rather than one product. It insists it does not market the drink to young people with promotions such as two-for-one offers or coupons. For their part, the monks prefer not to comment.
The recipe for the tonic wine is attributed to French monks who settled at the abbey in the 1880s. By the 1920s some 1,400 bottles were sold annually but in 1927 a London wine merchant took over the marketing and persuaded the monks to change it from a rather severe medicinal drink to, in the words of the monks, a "smoother, more mature medicated wine". Based on red wine, the modern incarnation is strong, sweet, sticky and cheap.
It has become a favourite with young people in Scotland, who celebrate it with nicknames such as Commotion Lotion and Wreck the Hoose Juice. An area east of Glasgow has been branded the Buckfast Triangle.