Knifecrime Island Clerics Blamed For Booze-Related Violence

The monks of Buckfast Abbey — a pleasant Benedictine order in Devon, England — are rejecting suggestions that their Buckfast Tonic (a highly-caffeinated, 30 proof fortified wine) is playing a role in the nation’s epidemic of drunken violence. The Scottish constabulary have noted the connection: “Buckfast Tonic Wine was mentioned in 5,638 crime reports from 2006 to 2009, Strathclyde Police said. One in 10 of those offences were violent and the bottle was used as a weapon 114 times in that period.” While the monks’ statement

What is clear is that there are serious, social problems in some parts of Scotland and that in some of these parts there are people who abuse alcoholic drinks, including Buckfast Tonic Wine. Deplorable as these are, it is hard to see how one product with only a small percentage of the market can be held responsible for all the social ills of such an area. This seems a rather rapid leap of logic. Has anyone considered that the misuse of this wine by some could be seen as a symptom rather than a cause of such problems?

seems eminently reasonable, you have to admit that looks like a pretty irresistible bottle, sure to arouse the bloodlust of Knifecrime Island’s savage receptacle-wielders. Maybe they should add a “Not For Glassing” label to the bottom.