Buckfast, why not seen

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Buckfast, why not seen

Postby Apollo » Wed Sep 28, 2005 12:28 am

Often featuring in here, as an occasional discussion spin-off, its fairly invisible on many of the larger supermarket shelves as far as I can see, and I imagined they just didn't want to be associated with it, as it's fairly well evident in most 'convenience' stores. This may be why:
The recipe for Buckfast Tonic wine is attributed to the French monks who settled at Buckfast Abbey in the 1880's. Wines from Spain, known as mistellas, were imported and to these were added the tonic ingredients according to an old recipe. Despite its monastic origins, Buckfast has become notorious because of its popularity amongst "binge drinkers" who can often be the cause of anti-social behaviour. So the Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson recently wrote to the head of the Co-Operative Retail chain (which has links with the Labour Party) asking them to remove Buckfast from their shelves - and the company agreed. The Justice Minister then urged other local shop-keepers to do the same. Understandably, the company selling the wine is aggrieved at being singled out - especially as there are other products which can deliver more alcohol per pound spent. The distributors have instructed their lawyers to seek legal redress. Local authorities can ban the sale of products, but cannot single out specific brands and it is argued that the Justice Minister is guilty of a restrictive trade practice.
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Postby viceroy » Wed Sep 28, 2005 6:46 pm

Whatever happened to Lanliq Fortified Wine? It was pronounced 'Lannie' and those of us over a certain age may remember that at one time it was very much the beverage of choice for the discerning dosser. I believe a Lanliq and hairspray cocktail was just the ticket for instant oblivion, although I imagine that the hangover afterwards must have been pretty spectacular. Haven't seen a bottle of this stuff for years. It appears that Buckfast have well and truly cornered that particular end of the market. There used to be another brand of fortified wine called Eldorado which was also quite popular among the Lanliq-drinking fraternity.
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Postby james73 » Wed Sep 28, 2005 6:51 pm

viceroy wrote:There used to be another brand of fortified wine called Eldorado which was also quite popular among the Lanliq-drinking fraternity.


Wonder no more...
From just-drinks.com...

UK: Halewood buys two fortified wine brands
26 Sep 2005
Source: just-drinks.com editorial team


Halewood International has strengthened its position in the fortified wine category by purchasing two brands, Emva and Eldorado, for undisclosed fees.

Emva is a fortified wine from a sixth generation winery in Cyprus. The brand is produced with indigenous varieties of grapes including Black Mavro and White Xiniseri. The free run juice is fermented down to dryness, fortified with grape alcohol and matured for three years in oakwood barrels.

Hale wood said that, with a loyal drinker base, Emva has a wide off-trade distribution across multiples and cash and carries including Tesco, Sainsburys, Morrisons, Nisa Today and Booker. Emva will be supported by a packaging re-design, POS and new A4 presenters.

Eldorado, meanwhile, is a fortified wine well known across Scotland. Supported by POS it will now be made available across the UK.

Richard Clark, head of marketing for Halewood International, said: “Emva and Eldorado are both strong brands in their own right, they complement our strong portfolio of fortified wines and will enable us to provide a stronger range proposition to our customers.”

Both have a target audience of 45 plus drinkers of fortified wines and sherries. Halewood International will aim to retain these drinkers and encourage lapsed drinkers over the forthcoming 12 months.

Emva has an ABV of 15% and is available in 70cl at a price of £4.49 or in 6 x 70cl packs, and Eldorado has an ABV of 17.5% and is available in 1l, 70cl (£4.49) and 35cl formats.



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Postby james73 » Wed Sep 28, 2005 6:52 pm

viceroy wrote:I believe a Lanliq and hairspray cocktail was just the ticket for instant oblivion, although I imagine that the hangover afterwards must have been pretty spectacular.

::): ::): ::):



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Postby Alycidon » Wed Sep 28, 2005 7:34 pm

Some enterprising locals from Coatbridge thought up the idea of pouring their Buckfast into a Soda Stream, the resulting effervescant version of their tipple was even more effective in rendering them "blootered".
They called their cocktail a "buckies fizz"
One other popular brand was "Four Crown" which I remember being advertised on radio Clyde.
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Fortified wine

Postby Dexter St. Clair » Wed Sep 28, 2005 8:01 pm

Lanliq, Four Crown etc were all South African wines and I feel the jakies must have heeded the call for a boycott of that country's produce and moved over to Colt 45, Thunderbird and super lager.

I once cleaned up the Clyde with several hundred others . The patch we were given was the under the railway bridge at the Briggait. That particular bit of the north bank of the Clyde was knee deep in Belair refill bottles. I believe it was consumed with milk to make it slightly palatable. As it was hair product (still available http://www.belairbeauty.com) it could be purchased outside of licensing hours and on a Sunday.
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Postby JayKay » Thu Sep 29, 2005 11:19 am

...a loyal drinker base...a target audience of 45 plus drinkers of fortified wines and sherries...

I have to laugh at the press release's way of writing this without using the word "alcoholic"

Halewood International will aim to retain these drinkers and encourage lapsed drinkers...

Shouldn't be difficult to retain them i would thing. As for encouraging lapsed drinkers...wonder if that involves loitering outside AA meetings with a kerry oot? :?
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Postby engineer » Thu Sep 29, 2005 4:58 pm

my sister told me about a drink they had in aberdeen, 'special k'. pint glass with half special brew, half k cider. talk about wreck the hoose juice
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Postby Ronnie » Fri Sep 30, 2005 4:28 pm

As a tee-totaller for the past four weeks, it's surprising that I know this, but Lanliq, which was also known as "the bam's dram", was made in Scotland (but not from girders). The family was called Lang, and they had a distillery/ paint remover factory in Largs (just to add to the surreality, it was in a converted cinema that had been designed to look like a Viking longboat). The name comes from Lang's Liqueur.
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Postby Tamandee » Sat Oct 01, 2005 9:12 am

There is another favourite tipple not mentioned as yet. Can anyone guess its name? Yes, Scotsmac (aka Wham's Dram?). This delightful beverage was also brewed in Largs, this one by JH Wham. A dreadful concoction of whisky and wine -- puts Southern Comfort in another light, eh? :D [/i]
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Postby Apollo » Sat Oct 01, 2005 4:28 pm

Scotsmac, happily available online although the source is only given as the EU.

Name: Scotsmac Medium Sweet
Where it's from: >European Union
Retail Price: £43.08
Vintage: Current
Bottle Size: 70 cl
Bottles Per Case: 12
Style: Other Fortified Wines
Description: A blend of wine and whisky to produce a fortified wine. This drink can be enjoyed chilled on its own or as a long drink, mixed with tonic, lemonade or dry ginger.
Country: European Union
Producer: Scotsmac
SKU: 20762

Isn't the 'special k' example from Aberdeen just a particular example of 'Snakebite' a 50/50 pint of lager/cider. We used to watch them from different pubs, as the mix sometimes produced a precipitate. Haven't seen one for ages, but when I mentioned it a while back, someone told me they weren't/couldn't be sold any longer. Is that true?
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Postby cumbo » Sat Oct 01, 2005 11:29 pm

Sorry to hear you've given up the drink Ronnie, you used to be quite funny after a couple of Eldorados on the rocks!

I recently visited Joseph Dunn's who are the sole Scottish distributor for Buckfast. A warehouse with 10,000 cases of Buckie is quite a sight!

I read in the paper recently a chap who played golf and tried to make himself superior like his chums with hipflasks, he would wrap his half bottle of buckie in tinfoil :D :D
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Pint Mixtures

Postby Dexter St. Clair » Sun Oct 02, 2005 11:27 am

There was a period in my life when I went right off lager and would only drink
Black Velvet a mixture of cider and my preference of a bottle of sweet stout. That attracted some looks at the Chryston Miners Welfare but anything was better than the Norseman lager on offer.

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with of course a portrait of the lovely Ann.
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Postby engineer » Sun Oct 02, 2005 1:57 pm

Apollo wrote:Isn't the 'special k' example from Aberdeen just a particular example of 'Snakebite' a 50/50 pint of lager/cider. We used to watch them from different pubs, as the mix sometimes produced a precipitate. Haven't seen one for ages, but when I mentioned it a while back, someone told me they weren't/couldn't be sold any longer. Is that true?


i think you'd need to ask for a special and a cider on their own and perform your own mixology to it. snakebite of tennents and blackthorn is actually quite nice, or with a soupcon of blackcurrant for a pint of diesel. but i'd never touch special brew mixed with k...is k still available? whne i was young(er) 'a the daft burdz would drink it giving rise to its nickname of 'leg opener'
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Postby Apollo » Sun Nov 12, 2006 2:43 am

Spotted the following item, it seems the sales of Buckfast have "boomed" since the Scottish Health Minister and Scottish Executive Justice minister drew attention to it when they called for it to be taken off the shelves:

Buckfast Tonic Wine has been singled out by the Scottish health minister because of its supposed links with anti-social behaviour in some of Scotland's poorest areas. The Scottish Executive justice minister, Cathy Jamieson, has also called for it to be taken off the shelves. But they say that even "bad" publicity is good for sales - and that has been the experience of "Buckie" or "commotion lotion" as it is sometimes called locally. Despite the total lack of formal advertising in Scotland, Buckfast sells 60% of its output in Scotland - and sales have boomed since the ministers drew attention to it. The 15% fortified wine is produced by the Benedictine monks at Buckfast Abbey, who earned £3.5 million from sales of £30 million last year. The monks have donated large sums to charity, including £500,000 to St Andrew's Hospice in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire. The distributors argue that the product is a normal drink and that ministers are attacking it to cover up their failings in tackling the general alcohol drink problem in many sections of the population.
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