Confirmed: Full-sugar Irn Bru no longer in production

The traditional recipe for Scotland's most popular fizzy drink is no longer in production.

There have been reports of people stockpiling Irn Bru ahead of the recipe change. Picture: John Devlin

The makers of Irn Bru today confirmed that the manufacture of the full-sugar version of the drink has now been stopped.

Last week, AG Barr said the sugar content would be cut by around 50 per cent, prompting devotees of the drink to begin stockpiling cans in case the taste changes.

The iconic Scottish refreshment will be blended with a mix of low-calorie sweeteners including aspartame, which is used in thousands of other products.

The move from Barr comes ahead of the UK’s proposed sugar tax which come into effect in April.

Irn Bru will fall from 10.3g of sugar per 100ml to just 4.7g, making it officially under the 5g level at which the tax takes effect.

Tonight, Barr confirmed that the classic recipe is no longer in production

The company claim most fans won’t notice the difference when they try the new recipe, a spokesman for the drinks producer said: “We ran lots of taste tests that showed most people can’t tell the difference – nine out of 10 regular Irn-Bru drinkers told us we had a good or excellent taste match.”

Irn Bru have assured sweet-toothed Scots that the drink will still be loaded with sugar - around four teaspoons per can.

Rivals have also reacted to the incoming levy.

Coca-Cola recently announced it will launch smaller bottles at higher prices to absorb the charges.