Buckfast: Scotland’s notorious caffeinated wine you’ve never heard of
Scotland’s other national drink
‘Which hedge did you sleep in?’
That was the question I once overheard a Weegie (short for ‘Glasgwegian’) ask their friend after he’d admitted to hitting the Buckfast bottle hard the night before.
It’s no secret that Scots like their booze, but most people think of Scottish whisky tours and single malt when they think of Scotland. I wasn’t in Glasgow long when someone first asked me if I’d tried Buckfast yet.
Nope, I still haven’t, and I’m unlikely to, for the following reasons:
I have been off refined sugar for ages.
I don’t consume much caffeine.
If Buckfast’s smell is any indication of its taste, it’s awful: sickly sweet, like cough syrup.
It has a… ‘reputation’. More about that below.
What is Buckfast?
A fortified wine made by the Benedictine monks of Buckfast Abbey in Devon since the 1890s, Buckfast isn’t really popular outside of Scotland and parts of Ireland. One theory goes that it was popularized in Glasgow by Celtic football fans in the 1970s due to its similar taste to communion wine.
While the label declares it a ‘tonic wine’, it also explicitly states that this does not imply any health-giving properties. And most folks who’ve tried Buckfast would probably agree.
Loosely the equivalent to Mad Dog 20/20 or Four Loko for American teenagers, and much like (hard) cider here in the UK, Buckfast gives you a good bang for your buck. It is widely available, cheap, sweet, and heavily caffeinated, hence its popularity with Scottish youth and students. Backpackers in Glasgow and the expat community in Scotland are often warned about its potency.
I’ve been told it’s best consumed chilled, and to just keep it in the freezer since it doesn’t freeze. A single 750ml bottle has 9 grams of sugar and 281 mg of caffeine, or as much as 10 cans of Coke!
Unaware of my criminality, I once brought a bottle of the stuff to the US for my siblings to try (the Food and Drug Administration outlawed drinks that combine alcohol and caffeine in 2010. Whoops.) Whenever I visit, I usually bring a few nice single malts, but the fam preferred the Bucky. (And thankfully, bringing it home was the only law broken that day.)
In this case, sick = cool.
Buckfast has a well-deserved reputation
Its nicknames are well-deserved: historically (and unfortunately, still today) in urban Glasgow nightlife, booze and violence go hand-in-hand. Mostly consumed by jakeys (aka ‘alcoholics’), Scottish teens, and jakey Scottish teens, Bucky’s popularity transcends generations—people of all ages have made bad decisions under its influence and ‘blamed it on the Bucky’.
I once asked a fairly sensible Weegie friend if he’d ever tried it. He sheepishly admitted to only once—and he’d woke up in jail.
“Bucky’s popularity transcends generations—people of all ages have made bad decisions under its influence and ‘blamed it on the Bucky’.”
The Guardian has declared Buckfast ‘a drink with almost supernatural powers of destruction’, and it’s been criticised for fueling all sorts of anti-social behavior in Scotland.
Though it accounts for less than 1% of Scotland’s total alcohol sales, a Scottish Prison Service survey in 2015 found over 40% of inmates had consumed Buckfast before their last offense — most of which were violent crimes.
One drink, many monikers
In typical Weegie fashion, Buckfast goes by many names (a sure sign of its popularity):
Bottle of ‘What the hell are you looking at?’
Bottle of breach of the peace
Bucky Baracas
Bean
Coatbridge table wine (the deprived areas of Airdrie, Coatbridge, and Cumbernauld are known as the ‘Buckie Triangle’)
Commotion lotion
Cumbernauld rocket fuel
Electric juice/soup
F*cked fast
Jakey juice
The monk’s brew
Vino d’jakey
Wreck-the-hoose juice
Buckfast’s pop culture resurrection
Bucky is still most often found being enjoyed by anti-social youths (aka non-educated delinquents, or ‘neds’) in local parks at night, but there are also attempts to revamp its image. It’s now associated with Glasgow’s underground pop culture scene. It’s on greeting cards and t-shirts, and during the recent Banksy exhibition in Glasgow at the Gallery of Modern Art in 2023, a local bar was offering free Buckie cocktails to the first 100 ticket-holding customers. In 2016, the second Saturday in May was declared annual World Buckfast Day—it falls on Saturday, 9 May in 2026.
A wine critic’s verdict
Buckfast has even traveled across the Atlantic. One American wine critic reviewed it in vivid, unfiltered detail. Here are his tasting notes:
Buckfast Tonic Wine (No Vintage)
Screw cap, took it off about 30 minutes before to bring in some air. Apparently made by monks in England. Decided to try while cooking dinner. Poured into a glass, first glance has a very inky almost brownish color that you see in older wines. Very syrupy, liquid clings to the side of the glass when swirled. Almost 15% ABV.
Stuck my nose in and was hit with something I’ve never experienced before. Barnyardy funk (in a bad way) almost like a dead animal in a bird’s nest. A mix of flat Coca Cola and caramel with a whiff of gun metal.
On the palate, overwhelming sweetness and sugar. Cherry Cola mixed with Benadryl. Unlike anything I’ve tasted. I’m not sure what this liquid is but it is not wine, I’m actually not sure what it is but it tastes like something a doctor would prescribe. A chemical concoction of the highest degree. Can only compare it to a Four Loko.
Managed to make it through a couple small glasses but not much more. Has absolutely ruined the evening drinking-wise for me as I tried to drink a nice Bordeaux after but the iron-like metallic sweet aftertaste I just couldn’t get out of my mouth even after a few glasses of water. I don’t drink a lot of coffee regularly so I also have mild heart palpitations from the caffeine after just drinking a bit of this and feel a slight migraine.
An ungodly concoction made by seemingly godly men. I believe the Vatican needs to send an exorcist over to Buckfast Abbey as the devil’s works are cleary present there. After tasting this “wine,” the way I feel can only be described as akin to being under a bridge on one’s knees orally pleasing a vagrant while simultaneously drinking liquified meth through a dirty rag.
I’ve drank a lot of wines in my life and will never forget this one.
Final thoughts
If you're planning a trip to Glasgow in 2025, trying Buckfast might not be on the itinerary—but it’s a fascinating part of Scottish culture all the same. Whether you’re an expat living in the UK, a curious tourist, or just someone with a morbid curiosity for regional drinks, Bucky offers a wild insight into urban Scottish life.
Have you ever tried Buckfast and lived to tell about it? Know of any drinks with ‘reputations’ that are consumed elsewhere? Share your thoughts in the comments below!