Vin Mariani

As I listened to KCRW's Good Food today, one of my favorite shows on KCRW, I had to stop writing and rewind a portion of the show to make sure I was hearing correctly.

Angelo Mariani, a Frenchman, created a tonic in 1863 out of bordeux wine and coca leaves - that's right, cocaine! When it's mixed with alcohol, the mix yields a potent psychoactive metabolite, cocaethylene. I'm sure this is one for the pharmacists and other drug enthusiasts of the world. Ian Lendler writes about this concoction in his new book, Alcoholica Esoterica. Apparently, the tonic was greatly requested and consumed by American presidents and various international dignitaries, including Pope Leo XIII and Pope St. Pius X. Pope Leo liked the drink so much, he was known to regularly carry it in a flask AND he awarded Mariani with a gold medal from the Vatican.

No shit!