Leith diners enjoy a grin and tonic with Buckfast ice cream

IT'S been blamed for boozy violence and derided as the drunkard's favourite.

Now Buckfast is top of the menu for diners in Leith, where a restaurant is using the fortified tonic wine in its new range of summer ice creams.

Englishman, Scotsman and an Irishman, or E:S:I, is serving up Buckfast ripple ice cream to its lunchtime customers - and despite the drink's reputation, it's going down a storm with discerning diners.

Other flavours dished up by the restaurant in Queen Charlotte Street include Irn-Bru, soda bread and Irish whiskey, and even sambuca, strawberry and black pepper.

• Would you be tempted to have a Buckfast ice cream as a summer dessert? Vote here

For those who don't want to get sozzled by their sweet, the menu also includes peanut butter and chocolate, and rhubarb and custard.

Owner Paul McCutcheon, the Irishman of the restaurant's title, said: "One of the chefs decided he wanted to make ice cream and we made a reduction of the Buckfast and added it in slowly so it makes the ripple effect."

Because the Buckfast is reduced to a syrup, some of its original 15 per cent alcohol content is removed by the time it hits the dish, but it still carries a kick.

Although the restaurant is now without its eponymous Scotsman after the departure of co-founder Jon Cowan, the Scottish flavours are a favourite with diners.

Mr McCutcheon said: "The Buckfast one is pretty popular. It's not what people expect because it reduces down to be really fruity. We did rhubarb and Buckfast, which was really popular because it tasted so good."

Scotland's other national drink is also popular. He said: "The Irn-Bru one goes down really well, especially when you get people in and they're slightly hungover.

"We're still working on it. You can't really capture the bubbles and the fizziness of it, so we're experimenting with the popping candy so it'll give the effect of it being fizzy.

"It's a bit of fun. We've got some serious ice creams on there as well - my favourite is lime and ginger. It's so good."

Like all the best ideas, the crazy flavours were dreamed up over a few beers by Mr McCutcheon and his co-owner, chef and Englishman Richard Waugh.

Mr McCutcheon said: "We were just thinking of different weird flavours. I don't think anything got rejected. Strawberry, sambuca and black pepper is really good."

Mr Waugh added: "We bought a Kenwood mixer for making bread and wanted to use it for something else. Once you've made up the base you can just put anything in there. Alcohol works best, though.

"It's quite hard having a bottle of Buckfast in the kitchen, though. You have to try and resist at the end of a long shift."