Alot of people don't know that I love history. Especially US history. I loving reading about the area where my family grew up and any states where they lived. I ran across an article in one of my cookbooks ("A LOVE AFFAIR WITH SOUTHERN COOKING" ) about Coca Cola and I just had to read on since I knew that one of my ancestors was Asa Candler. His mother was Martha Bernetta Beall, a first cousin to my great grandfather. His name was Noble Newman Beall. Since this work is by Jean Anderson, I will just give you a few high lites of her story.
"Gimme a dope" is what some southerners use to say when they reached for a small bottle of Coke. It is no secret that the original Coca-Cola syrup contained cocaine. Discovered or concocted by Atlanta pharmacist John Pemberton in 1886 and marketed as a nerve tonic, it was just what Southerners needed during the agonizing aftermath of the Civil War.
Enter Atlanta businessman, Asa Candler, who had suffered from migraine's since childhood. When a friend suggested that he try Coca-Cola, he headed to Jacob's Pharmacy, where it was served at five cents a glass. The soda jerk spooned an ounce or so of Pemberton's dark, secret syrup into a glass, then fizzed it with carbonated water.
Candler downed that first glass of Coca-Cola in 1888, emerged pain-free, and quickly wrote his brother of the amazing cure. In no time, Candler bought the recipe for Pemberton's elixir (a blend of sugar, citrus, and coriander), vanilla, and lime juice plus cocaine, and caffeine extracted from African kola nuts). By 1891 he owned the company, and by 1895 he'd opened syrup plants in Chicago, Dallas, and Los Angeles. He wanted to make Coca-Cola a household name and it has become just that. I don't think their is an American anywhere that hasn't tasted Coke. And now it is sold around the world. Little did that pharmacist realize when he mixed sasprella with carbonated water and some spices what would evolve. The national drink of the world.
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