Japan’s ambassador to the UK has declared Irn Bru “just great” during his first official visit to Scotland, delighting locals with his enthusiastic thumbs up after trying the original 1901 recipe of the nation’s beloved soft drink.
His Excellency Hiroshi Suzuki was visiting the Auchentoshan Distillery in Clydebank, just outside Glasgow, alongside Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney, where the two discussed trade ties between Japan and Scotland — including, naturally, a shared love of whisky. But it was another iconic Scottish beverage that stole the spotlight.
Presented with a can of the classic 1901 Irn Bru by the PA news agency, Mr Suzuki took a generous sip and beamed. “It was fantastic,” he said. “In my life I have never had it before but it was just, just great.” He raised the can in approval and added: “It is just great,” giving a hearty thumbs up.
The ambassador had tried the standard Irn Bru earlier in his trip but was encouraged by locals to sample the older recipe — revered for its full sugar content and nostalgic flavour, which had been largely phased out following the UK’s sugar tax.
Mr Suzuki has gained something of a cult following online for his light-hearted food adventures across the UK. A photo of him trying a Tunnock’s teacake on X (formerly Twitter) racked up over 46,000 likes, while a video of him eating haggis attracted more than 800,000 views. His foray into Scotland’s fizzy orange icon is already winning hearts.
Following the soft drink detour, the ambassador and First Minister toured the Auchentoshan site, which is owned by Japanese drinks giant Suntory. Mr Suzuki took part in a whisky tasting session, sampling three drams and discussing the strong cultural and commercial ties that link Japan and Scotland.
“Japanese people love things like Scotch whisky, Scottish salmon, and recently, mackerel has been a great success,” Mr Suzuki said. “For the last couple of years, the export of mackerel from Scotland to Japan grew 10 times.” He described Scotland as a “very important” trading partner and said he hoped to see bilateral trade deepen further in the years ahead.
The First Minister echoed the ambassador’s optimism, praising the long-standing collaboration between Scotland and Japan. “It’s been my pleasure over the last couple of days to host a visit from the Japanese ambassador to Scotland,” Mr Swinney said. “We’ve been using our time to cement links and connections between Scotland and Japan.”
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Highlighting growing Japanese investment in key Scottish sectors, Mr Swinney added: “Japanese business people recognise Scotland as an attractive destination for investment, particularly in renewable energy, in life sciences, and as we see from our visit here today, in the whisky industry as well.”
He also noted that the Auchentoshan Distillery stood as a shining example of international partnership, blending Japanese corporate stewardship with traditional Scottish distilling heritage.
As Mr Suzuki continues his culinary tour of the UK, his latest thumbs up for Irn Bru 1901 may well be his most popular yet. With whisky, haggis, and now Scotland’s favourite fizzy drink under his belt, the ambassador’s visit has been as much about cultural delight as diplomatic ties.
For now, Scotland has found a new fan in Mr Suzuki — and it’s clear the feeling is mutual.
