Pemberton's French Wine Coca

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Pemberton's French Wine Coca was a coca wine created by the druggist John Pemberton, the inventor of Coca-Cola. It was an alcoholic beverage, mixed with coca, kola nut, and damiana. The original recipe contained the ingredient cocaethylene (cocaine mixed with alcohol), which was removed, just like the alcohol had before it, in 1899 because of a social stigma surrounding the rampant use of cocaine at the time. [1]

Contents

History

French wine coca is a combination of cocaethylene (a unique drug made by mixing cocaine and alcohol) and French wine.

In 1863, a Parisian chemist Angelo Mariani combined coca and wine and started selling it under the name "Vin Mariani". This became extremely popular. Jules Verne, Alexander Dumas, and Arthur Conan Doyle were among literary figures said to have used it, and the chief rabbi of France is quoted to have said, "Praise be to Mariani's wine!" [2] Pope Leo XIII reportedly carried a flask of it regularly and gave Mariani a medal. [3]

Seeing this commercial success, Dr. John Stith Pemberton in Columbus, Georgia – himself a morphine addict following an injury in the Civil War – set out to make his own version. He called it Pemberton's French Wine Coca and marketed it as a panacea. Among many fantastic claims, he called it "a most wonderful invigorator of the sexual organs". [4]

In the 1880s, when former US President Ulysses S. Grant was writing his memoirs, he drank Pemberton's French Wine Coca to fight a painful throat cancer. [5]

In an 1885 interview with the Atlanta Journal , Pemberton claimed the drink would benefit "scientists, scholars, poets, divines, lawyers, physicians, and others devoted to extreme mental exertion." [6] [7] In 1885, when Atlanta and Fulton County enacted temperance legislation, Pemberton scrambled to develop a non-alcoholic version of his popular product. The result was an early version of Coca-Cola. The temperance legislation did not affect the inclusion of coca, which remained in the formula until early into the 20th century, when it was removed under the orders of then-The Coca-Cola Company president Asa Candler; coca leaf extract with the cocaine removed remains one of the flavors in Coca-Cola.

Despite Atlanta's Temperance legislation, production of French Wine Coca continued until Pemberton's death in 1888; in 1887, French Wine Coca sold 720 bottles a day. The Coca-Cola recipe was eventually sold to Candler. [5]

Uses

Pemberton claimed astounding medicinal properties for his French Wine Coca, which was marketed as a patent medicine. French Wine Coca was marketed mostly to upper class intellectuals, afflicted with diseases believed to have been brought on by urbanization and Atlanta's increasingly competitive business environment. The beverage was advertised as a cure for nerve trouble, dyspepsia, gastroparesis, mental and physical exhaustion, gastric irritability, wasting diseases, constipation, headache, neurasthenia and impotence. [8] It was also suggested as a cure for morphine addiction, which was increasingly common after the Civil War.

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Coca-Cola Carbonated soft drink

Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1888 Pemberton sold Coca-Cola's ownership rights to Asa Griggs Candler, a businessman, whose marketing tactics led Coca-Cola to its dominance of the global soft-drink market throughout the 20th and 21st century. The drink's name refers to two of its original ingredients: coca leaves, and kola nuts. The current formula of Coca-Cola remains a closely guarded trade secret; however, a variety of reported recipes and experimental recreations have been published. The secrecy around the formula has been used by Coca-Cola in its marketing as only a handful of anonymous employees know the formula. The drink has inspired imitators and created a whole classification of soft drink: colas.

Cola Type of carbonated soft drink

Cola is a carbonated soft drink flavored with vanilla, cinnamon, citrus oils and other flavorings. Cola became popular worldwide after pharmacist John Pemberton invented Coca-Cola, a trademarked brand, in 1886, which was later imitated by other manufacturers. Most colas contain caffeine, which was originally sourced from the kola nut, leading to the drink's name, though other sources are now also used. The original cola drink by Pemberton contained an extract from the coca plant as well. His non-alcoholic recipe was inspired by the coca wine of pharmacist Angelo Mariani, created in 1863.

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John Stith Pemberton American pharmacist, inventor of Coca-Cola (1831–1888)

John Stith Pemberton was an American pharmacist and Confederate States Army veteran who is best known as the inventor of Coca-Cola. In May 1886, he developed an early version of a beverage that would later become Coca-Cola, but sold his rights to the drink shortly before his death.

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Coca wine Type of alcoholic beverage

Coca wine is an alcoholic beverage combining wine with cocaine. One popular brand was Vin Mariani, developed in 1863 by French-Corsican chemist and entrepreneur Angelo Mariani.

Vin Mariani Coca wine and patent medicine of the 1860s

Vin Mariani was a coca wine and patent medicine created in the 1860s by Angelo Mariani, a French chemist from the island of Corsica. Mariani became intrigued with coca and its medical and economic potential after reading Paolo Mantegazza's paper on the effects of coca. Between 1863 and 1868 Mariani started marketing a coca wine called Vin Tonique Mariani which was made from Bordeaux wine and coca leaves.

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Asa Griggs Candler American mayor and businessman

Asa Griggs Candler was an American business tycoon and politician who in 1888 purchased the Coca-Cola recipe for $238.98 from chemist John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta, Georgia. Candler founded The Coca-Cola Company in 1892 and developed it as a major company.

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Cocaethylene Chemical compound

Cocaethylene (ethylbenzoylecgonine) is the ethyl ester of benzoylecgonine. It is structurally similar to cocaine, which is the methyl ester of benzoylecgonine. Cocaethylene is formed by the liver when cocaine and ethanol coexist in the blood. In 1885, cocaethylene was first synthesized, and in 1979, cocaethylene's side effects were discovered.

Coca tea Infusion of coca plant leaves

Coca tea, also called mate de coca, is an herbal tea (infusion) made using the raw or dried leaves of the coca plant, which is native to South America. It is made either by submerging the coca leaf or dipping a tea bag in hot water. The tea is most commonly consumed in the Andes mountain range, particularly Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and especially in Peru, where it is consumed all around the country. It is greenish yellow in color and has a mild bitter flavor similar to green tea with a more organic sweetness.

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References

  1. Hamblin, James (January 31, 2013). "Why we took cocaine out of soda". The Atlantic. Retrieved August 30, 2013.
  2. Markel, Howard (2012). An Anatomy of Addiction: Sigmund Freud, William Halsted, and the Miracle Drug Cocaine. United States: First Vintage Books. ISBN   9781400078790.
  3. Haskins, Mike (June 8, 2011). Drugs - a user's guide. ISBN   9781446446119.
  4. Hamblin, James (January 31, 2013). "Why we took cocaine out of soda". The Atlantic. Retrieved August 30, 2013.
  5. 1 2 "Pemberton's French Wine Coca and the Birth of Coca-Cola". H2g2.com. May 24, 2013.
  6. "Pemberton's French Wine Coca (Coca-Cola) - Do You Drink Coke?". Yumsugar.com. Retrieved January 30, 2012.
  7. "Coca-Cola Television Advertisements:Dr. John S. Pemberton". Memory.loc.gov. Retrieved January 30, 2012.
  8. Pendergrast|, Mark (2000). For God, Country and Coca-Cola. Basic Books. p. 32. ISBN   978-0-465-05468-8.