Italy: Recipe for Ancient Elixir, Possible Coca-Cola Precursor, Found in Convent
The recipe uses kola nut and coca leaves in an alcoholic blend, a composition that closely matches John Stith Pemberton’s 1886 French Wine Coca.
- Father Manuel Russo discovered a mid-19th-century recipe for 'Elixir vinoso ricostituente' in the archives of Florence's San Marco Pharmacy, a sought-after product in the Dominican friars' pharmacy, according to the weekly Toscana Oggi.
- The tonic contains thirty grams of kola nut and Bolivian coca leaves, the same mixture American pharmacist John Stith Pemberton used to create 'French Wine Coca,' the forerunner of modern Coca-Cola, in 1886.
- Founded by Bautista Aparici, Ricardo Sanz, and Enrique Ortiz, the Aielo Liquor Factory in Spain produced a similar syrup called 'Nuez de Cola Coca' and won prizes at the 1889 Paris World's Fair, one year before Coca-Cola's official birth.
- When Coca-Cola arrived in Spain, it realized the local drink hindered its expansion and purchased the patent. "In return he left bottles of Nuez de Cola Coca," says Juan Juan Mic, the factory's current owner, speaking to the BBC.
- There is no proof connecting the composition of the Florentine elixir to American medicine, yet these coincidences continue to arouse curiosity about the history of one of the world's most famous drinks.
29 Articles
29 Articles
Italy: recipe for ancient elixir, possible Coca-Cola precursor, found in convent
In the archive of Florence's historic San Marco Pharmacy, a recipe for an "Elixir vinoso ricostituente" has been found, using the same ingredients as "French Wine Cola", the medicinal precursor of today's Coca-Cola.
Coca-Cola is considered a symbol of the "American Way of Life". Now a father in Italy came across a recipe that suggests a different origin.
The news of a monastic foreform of Cola-Limonade in the 19th century sparks high waves. However, the matter is not entirely new, as a look into the history of the Pope shows.
The recipe appeared in a 19th-century advertising brochure found at the old San Marco Pharmacy in Florence
A drink recipe was found in Florence that was described as easing the stresses of age and fatigue.
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