‘It’s just great’: Japan ambassador tries Irn Bru on visit to whisky distillery

The Japanese ambassador to the UK has given Irn Bru the thumbs up as he visited a whisky distillery near Glasgow, describing it as “just great”.

His Excellency Hiroshi Suzuki toured the Auchentoshan Distillery in Clydebank with First Minister John Swinney as the two discussed trade, including Scotland’s national drink.

But during his first visit to Scotland he tried the nation’s other national drink.

Mr Suzuki had tried Irn Bru earlier during his visit but some Scots had urged him to try the original 1901 recipe, which had been phased out following the sugar tax.

The Japanese Ambassador to the UK, Hiroshi Suzuki, took a large gulp of 1901 recipe Irn Bru (Jane Barlow/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - Jane Barlow

Handed a can by the PA news agency, the Japanese ambassador said he was a big fan.

“It was fantastic,” he said. “In my life I have never had it before but it was just, just great.”

After taking a gulp of the older recipe Irn Bru, he added: “It is just great,” while giving it a thumbs up.

The ambassador has become well known online for trying different foods around the UK.

A picture posted on X, formerly Twitter, of Mr Suzuki trying a teacake gained more than 46,000 likes, while his video of eating haggis gained more than 800,000 views on the platform.

Following a tour of the Auchentoshan Distillery, which is owned by the Japanese whisky firm Suntory, Mr Suzuki said Japanese people loved Scottish whisky.

He said Scotland was a “very important” trading partner for Japan, adding: “Japanese people love things like Scotch whisky, Scottish salmon, and recently, mackerel has been a great success.

“For the last couple of years, the export of mackerel from Scotland to Japan grew 10 times.”

Mr Suzuki said he “hoped” trade between Scotland and Japan would continue to grow.

The diplomat took part in a whisky tasting session with the First Minister, trying three drams.

Mr Swinney told PA that Auchentoshan Distillery was an “excellent example” of the partnership between Scotland and Japan.

First Minister John Swinney and Japanese Ambassador Hiroshi Suzuki take part in a whisky tasting session at the Auchentoshan Distillery (Jane Barlow/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - Jane Barlow

He said: “It’s been my pleasure over the last couple of days to host a visit from the Japanese ambassador to Scotland.

“We’ve been using our time to cement links and connections between Scotland and Japan, and particularly yesterday, to engage with Japanese business people who are investing in Scotland and who recognise Scotland as an attractive destination for investment, particularly in renewable energy, but also in life sciences, and as we see from our visit here today, in the whisky industry as well.”