Kinnie () is a

Maltese Maltese may refer to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to Malta * Maltese alphabet * Maltese cuisine * Maltese culture * Maltese language, the Semitic language spoken by Maltese people * Maltese people, people from Malta or of Maltese ...

bittersweet

carbonated Carbonation is the chemical reaction of carbon dioxide to give carbonates, bicarbonates, and carbonic acid. In chemistry, the term is sometimes used in place of carboxylation, which refers to the formation of carboxylic acids. In inorganic che ...

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 ...

brewed from bitter oranges and extracts of wormwood. It was first introduced in 1952 by the brewery

Simonds Farsons Cisk Simonds Farsons Cisk plc, commonly known as Farsons, is a Maltese food and beverage conglomerate whose businesses include the brewing, sale and distribution of beer and soft drinks; importation, wholesale and retail of food and beverages; opera ...

, and continues to be produced by Farsons in Mrieħel,

Birkirkara Birkirkara (abbreviated as B'Kara or BKR) is a city in the Eastern Region, Malta, Eastern Region of Malta. It is the second most populous on the Malta (island), island, with 24,356 inhabitants as of 2020. The town consists of five autonomous pari ...

, Malta. Kinnie is brown, and is drunk straight or mixed with alcohol. It holds a reputation for being Malta's favourite non-alcoholic beverage, sometimes even called the 'national soft drink'.

History

Kinnie was invented by

's managing director Anthony Miceli Farrugia and was first produced in 1952 as an alternative to the cola drinks that proliferated in post-war Europe, specifically

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...

. Its taste was deliberately kept different from its international competition due to branding reasons. In 1975, it became the soft drink of the year of the French Comité International d'Action Gastronomique et Touristique. Kinnie's recipe is kept secret, though it is speculated to contain

ginseng Ginseng () is the root of plants in the genus ''Panax'', such as South China ginseng (''Panax notoginseng, P. notoginseng''), Korean ginseng (''Panax ginseng, P. ginseng''), and American ginseng (''American ginseng, P. quinquefol ...

and

rhubarb Rhubarb is the fleshy, edible stalks ( petioles) of species and hybrids (culinary rhubarb) of ''Rheum'' in the family Polygonaceae, which are cooked and used for food. The plant is a herbaceous perennial that grows from short, thick rhizomes. ...

. A ''Diet'' version for Kinnie appeared in 1984. In 2007, a new low calorie version of Kinnie called ''Kinnie Zest'' was made available. This has a stronger orange flavour, and is advertised as only having one calorie per bottle. Simonds started selling Kinnie Vita in 2014, which is sweetened using a blend of sugar and

stevia Stevia () is a sweet sugar substitute that is about 50 to 300 times sweetness, sweeter than sugar. It is extracted from the leaves of ''Stevia rebaudiana'', a plant native to areas of Paraguay and Brazil. The active compounds in stevia are ...

leaf extract. In April 2021, Kinnie launched an alcoholic version of the drink called 'Kinnie Spritz'.

Sales locations

Kinnie is exported to the UK, Italy, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Libya, and Canada, while also being available in Japan. Kinnie is produced in

Birkirkara, Malta Birkirkara (abbreviated as B'Kara or BKR) is a city in the Eastern Region, Malta, Eastern Region of Malta. It is the second most populous on the Malta (island), island, with 24,356 inhabitants as of 2020. The town consists of five autonomous pari ...

by Maltese Beverages Pty Limited, under a licence from Farsons. In March 2009, it was announced that Farsons were going to start exporting Kinnie into Russia. In the summer of 2010, Farsons and Kinnie UK Limited soft-launched Kinnie and its two variants in London's West End, reaching almost 100 trial outlets by September 2010.Kinnie goes on sale in London
''Times of Malta'', 17 September 2010.

References

External links

Company website
{{citrus sodas Carbonated drinks Maltese cuisine Products introduced in 1952 Drink brands Soft drinks

History

Sales locations

See also

References

External links