In the 19th century, a French chemist came up with a tonic called Vin Marianni made of Bordeaux wine stepped with coca leaves. It was supposed to restore a person’s health, strength, vitality, energy and what not. With a good dose of cocaine in it, it comes as no surprise that the tonic was a huge hit and many people carried a flask around the same way we carry Gatorade around! So popular was it that it was even awarded a gold medal!
The ethanol in the wine operated as a solvent, extracting cocaine from the coca leaf. When cocaine and alcohol are imbibed together, a third chemical compound, called cocaethylene, forms as the intoxicants are metabolized in the liver. This intense psychoactive is more euphoric, powerful, and toxic than cocaine or alcohol alone.
But all parties must come to an end. In 1906, the United States began enforcing labeling regulations through the Pure Food and Drug Act. Alcohol prohibition movements gained traction and the dangers of cocaine became public knowledge, all of which reduced the market for coca wine. A coca-less version of Vin Mariani was produced for sale in the United States, but it didn’t offer the same stimulant effect of a competing beverage that was also originally based on coca: Coca-Cola.
Picture Credit : Google