Flavor Aid is a non-carbonated

soft drink A soft drink (see #Terminology, § Terminology for other names) is a class of non-alcoholic drink, usually (but not necessarily) Carbonated water, carbonated, and typically including added Sweetness, sweetener. Flavors used to be Natural flav ...

beverage made by the

Jel Sert The Jel Sert Company is a privately held company based in West Chicago, Illinois, United States. Established in 1926, it specializes in making drink mixes, dessert mixes (pudding and gelatin), and frozen novelties. History and Products The Jel ...

Company in West Chicago, Illinois. It is sold as an unsweetened, powdered concentrate

drink mix A drink mix is a processed-food product, designed to mix usually with water to produce a beverage resembling juice, soda, or other sweet products in flavor. Another type of drink mix is represented by products that are mixed into milk. Most drin ...

, and is frequently compared to the similar Kool-Aid brand drink mix.

Jonestown massacre

The drink became infamous for being linked to the Jonestown mass murder-and-suicide when it was learned that the

cyanide In chemistry, cyanide () is an inorganic chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of a carbon atom triple-bonded to a nitrogen atom. Ionic cyanides contain the cyanide anion . This a ...

poison A poison is any chemical substance that is harmful or lethal to living organisms. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figurati ...

taken by or forcibly administered to the commune's members was placed in Flavor Aid. Large barrels filled with the grape variety, laced with the cyanide and a variety of tranquillizer drugs, were found half-consumed amidst the hundreds of bodies. Kool-Aid, rather than Flavor Aid, is usually erroneously referred to as the drink used in the massacre. The association with Kool-Aid has spawned the figure of speech " drink the Kool-Aid". Criminal investigators testifying at the Jonestown inquest spoke of finding packets of "Kool aid" (''

sic The Latin adverb ''sic'' (; ''thus'', ''so'', and ''in this manner'') inserted after a quotation indicates that the quoted matter has been transcribed or translated as found in the source text, including erroneous, archaic, or unusual spelling ...

''), and eyewitnesses to the incident are also recorded as speaking of "kool aid" or "Cool Aid."

References

External links

Flavor Aid brand page, Jel Sert website
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170924001518/http://jelsert.com/brand/flavor-aid/ , date=2017-09-24 Powdered drink mixes American soft drinks Jel Sert brands Products introduced in 1929 Jonestown