The United Kingdom has a drinking problem, and few places in the Isles are chugging down as much hooch as the Scottish. The youth of Scotland are drinking so much that the Scottish Parliament is currently attempting to ban sales of a certain type of alcohol that’s taking the blame for a lot of social ills: Buckfast Tonic Wine, lovingly referred to as “Wreck The Hoose Juice.”
Why is Buckfast at fault? Well, for one thing, it’s got 15% alcohol by volume (stronger than most wines) and more caffeine than 8 cans of Coke. It’s also inexpensive, which makes it the drink of choice for Scotland’s rowdy youth in one of Scotland’s poorest areas. Basically, they’re blaming Buckfast and the Benedictine monks that brew it for larger societal problems.
People are always going to drink. Scotland already has 24-hour pubs, thanks to a failed 2005 law to try to put an end to binge drinking, and the average Scot consumes 12.5 liters of pure alcohol every year, eighth highest total in the world. Not even non-alcoholic alcopops are going to help this situation.
Tags: Buckfast, buckfast tonic wine, fortified wine, Benedictine monk wine, wine with caffeine, Scotland, alcohol, drinking problems, wreck the hoose juice