German drinks enthusiasts create most Scottish drink ever as they mature whisky in Irn Bru-soaked barrels

Daily Mail​

17-05-2025

They are two tipples that are synonymously Scottish and loved around the world.
However, a new drink that looks to combine the two has been dreamed up by a group of drinks enthusiasts in Germany.
Dubbed Bohemian Schnapsidee, the limited edition dram is created by finishing off a Scotch whisky inside barrels that have been infused with Irn Bru.
And the quirky drink, which is described as 'part peat monster, part candy-coated fever dream', has nearly sold out with only 20 bottles left up for grabs at 75 euros (£63) apiece.
The creator is VAME Malts, four friends from the Bavarian capital whose hobby is testing out bizarre twists on whisky and then bottling their brainwaves.
Their latest escapade saw them infuse an empty cask with 80 cans of Irn-Bru then use the barrel to finish a peated seven-year-old Scotch from Islay.
When the flavours mingled after two months, they christened it Bohemian Schnapsidee – a play on the Queen hit song and also the German phrase for a wonderful plan that comes together when drunk.
Max Kling - who dreamt up the fusion - said: 'It was an idea during a good evening on Islay with a lot of whisky.
'What does it taste like? It's a very controversial one. We took a sample to a fair in Germany and a bunch of Scotsmen tried it there.
'They were all pretty on board with it – they thought it was pretty fun.
'On the nose, it's just like a sweet whisky, but I've been told by people who are sensitive to Irn-Bru that the palate and finish are heavy with it.
'I would say the oak has done its fair share – the wood notes are very prominent.
'When Irn-Bru loses its fizz, it's has a sweet-and-sour quality, which some people, including me, find amazing, but others not so much.'
Mr Kling, a 33-year-old insurance statistician, added: 'I first had Irn-Bru at a pub in Edinburgh. It was love at first taste.
'The distinctive sweetness and artificial flavour reminds me of the chewing gums I had as a child.
'Scotland is close to our hearts. We come at least once a year. It is one of the most beautiful countries in the world for all of us.
'It's not only the whisky. Just walking around Jura, Islay, Arran, Skye, Edinburgh, Speyside and even the Central Belt is really good.'
Bohemian Schnapsidee's notes describe it as 'a wee Scottish beastie finished in a cask that held a Scottish elixir – in a Munich basement'.
Irn-Bru dates back to late Victorian times and its recipe – formulated by the Barr family of Glasgow and Falkirk - has been a closely-guarded secret.
Now canned at AG Barr's plant near Cumbernauld, Dunbartonshire, sales have long rivalled those of Coca-Cola in Scotland, but the company unveiled record profits last year off the back of growing popularity in England.
The friends behind VAME are now planning another bottling with tweaks to the finishing process to refine the taste.
And they have other whisky experiments lined up with hybrid casks and infusions with drinks including Buckfast, Italian aperitif Aperol and Spezi, an orange-flavoured cola popular in Bavaria.
Max created VAME with mechanical engineers Volker Kling, 60, and Ege Gümüs, 33, and Australian-born insurance worker Andrew Brodie, 35.
They forged their love of whisky over board-game nights in Munich then created VAME five years ago to invest in and create their own casks.
Their barrel of Bohemian Schnapsidee yielded 72 bottles for sale in their online shop.