LONDON - People in Scotland have been hoarding their most famous soft drink, Irn Bru, ahead of a British levy introduced Friday on beverages containing a high-sugar content.

Makers AG Barr sparked a rush on sales after it announced it was cutting the sugar content of Irn Bru by more than half.

It led to a petition being launched to save the original version, with questions fired at members of the Scottish Parliament.

Many people stockpiled hundreds of cans of the soda pop before the original version disappeared.

Stephen McLeod Blythe started a Save Real Irn-Bru crusade while Ryan Allen, 29, of Ayr in Scotland launched a "Hands Off Our Irn-Bru" petition which attracted thousands of supporters.

Fans of the orange-drink were outraged when they spotted former U.S. president Barack Obama drinking a sugar-free version of Irn Bru on a visit to Scotland.

While some soft drink makers have decided to keep their original formulations as an option alongside low sugar or sugar free versions, AG Barr has stopped making full-sugar Irn Bru which contained 10.3 grams of sugar per 100ml, meaning a can provided more than a British adult's recommended daily amount.

Although the makers of Irn Bru, produced by a secret formula dating back to 1901, stress the low-sugar drink should taste the same, it did not halt a backlash breaking out and panic buying sweeping Scotland.

Irn Bru, the top selling soft drink in Scotland after whisky, is sold at the rate of 20 cans every second, adding up to tens of millions of cans a year. Across Britain, sales of Irn Bru are in third place after Coca Cola and Pepsi.

A spokesperson from A.G. Barr told Xinhua: "IRN-BRU continues to be made using the same secret IRN-BRU flavor essence, but with less sugar. The vast majority of our drinkers want to consume less sugar so that's what we're now offering.

"We know that our loyal drinkers love IRN-BRU for its unique great taste and we've worked hard to deliver this. We ran lots of taste tests that showed most people can't tell the difference - 9 out of 10 regular IRN-BRU drinkers told us we had a good or excellent taste match.

"IRN-BRU remains a sugary drink as the sugar in a can was reduced from 8.5 teaspoons to 4. A can of IRN-BRU produced previously had just under 140 calories and today has around 65 calories."

Only three people currently know the recipe, including company chairman Robin Barr, his daughter Julie Barr and an unnamed AG Barr board director.

The British government has introduced the sugar tax as part of a campaign against obesity. The tax will add up to $0.34 onto the cost of a liter of soft drink containing higher levels of sugar.