Vin Mariani

At the end of the 19th century, Vin Mariani was presented as an elegant beverage capable of improving energy, concentration, and mood. Advertising posters associated the product with prestigious artists, physicians, and religious figures. Yet its recipe contained extracts of coca leaves several decades before the modern prohibition of cocaine.

Vin Mariani was created in the 1860s by Corsican pharmacist Angelo Mariani. His recipe relied on macerating South American coca leaves in red wine, allowing extraction of alkaloids that naturally stimulate the nervous system.

At that time, coca's properties were still largely perceived as beneficial in several European scientific and medical circles. The product was sold as an intellectual and physical tonic intended for artists as well as fatigued workers or weakened persons.

Advertising played a central role in its international success. Angelo Mariani collected thousands of favorable testimonials attributed to writers, opera singers, scientists, and religious leaders. Posters presented the product in refined contexts associated with culture, modernity, and social prestige.

Vin Mariani indirectly influenced several famous beverages of the turn of the 20th century. Early formulations of Coca-Cola also contained coca extracts before their progressive modification. With the development of modern health regulations and better understanding of cocaine's addictive effects, this type of product gradually disappeared from the European market.