Buckfast, the tonic wine with a cult following and a sometimes notorious reputation, is to be made available in cans for the very first time. The Scottish company that distributes the controversial drink have announced they will be selling the drink in cans, as well as the classic glass bottle, in time for the summer, but unfortunately for Irish drinkers the new serving option won't be available here yet.

For now, at least, this brave new age of open air tonic wine drinking will be limited to Scotland as there are no plans yet announced to bring the packaging revolution across the Irish sea.

The Daily Record reports that the distributors, J. Chandler, have said the move to sell the drink in smaller servings will help the Scottish government’s efforts to curb drinking.

An initial run of 16,000 cans will be produced and if that proves a success the makers will offer the can as a permanent alternative to the 75cl glass bottle.

Stewart Wilson, sales manager for J. Chandler, said: “The reason why we wanted to bring out a can is firstly we get asked quite regularly to bring out Buckfast in different shapes and sizes and it’s something we have looked at but never really considered at any great length.

“The public health minister for Scotland called on businesses to promote responsible consumption of alcohol and make smaller measures of wine available to consumers in January.

“That’s when we decided we should look at bringing Buckfast out in a smaller unit.”

“Bringing out any new product can be deemed as a risk in terms of, ‘Will it affect business or detract sales from the bottle?’ So, at this stage, we’re just bringing it out as a limited edition.

“But we do believe it will be successful with the summer months coming in. Some of our customers will be going to barbecues and a chilled can of Buckfast would be the ideal product to take along.”

The drink has been associated with violence in Scotland, being cited in close to 6,500 Strathclyde Police crime reports between 2010 and 2012. The Scottish government have pushed the producers to reduce the caffeine content, which currently stands at 280mg per bottle – the equivalent of 8 cans of Coca Cola.