Winter is coming up fast and already I have had a horrible cough/ sore throat. I hope that is not a foreshadow of how this cold and flu season is going to go. Luckily I was able to test out
Pine Bros. Softish Throat Drops during my recent illness.
First a little Back story on the company and product (this was on their product description)......
Ulysses S. Grant was President, the population of
America hovered at 39 million, and the telephone was still a pipe dream,
when in 1870 J. Herman Pine hung out a confectionery shingle on 8th
Street above Walnut in Philadelphia and, along with his brother, sold
their first batch of what they called 'Pine Brothers Glycerine Tablets.'
In an attempt to relieve his own sore throat and those of his family
members, Mr. Pine, a former German confectionery maker, determined that
by combining the soothing natural qualities of glycerin with the healing
properties of gum acacia, he could sooth and mitigate the mild
discomfort of a sore throat. Add in some natural flavoring and a
sweetener and voila, Pine Brothers Softish Throat Drops were born. "I
have discovered something," Pine wrote, "which will give quick throat
relief to thousands afflicted as I was." He added,"Perhaps I won't make
much money out of this. But I can make people happy, and that's more
important than money." Mr. Pine was being unduly modest, as his
"discovery" would become one of the most successful, most delicious and
most unique throat lozenges in the world. Nor has the recipe changed
appreciably since it was first introduced to the public over 140 years
ago.
In 1930 Pine Brothers was sold to the Life Savers
Company and continued to flourish. Known for its 'soft drop
consistency,' Pine Brothers lozenges became a favorite of adults and
children alike. The product, which attracted healthiest sales in the
eastern and northern states, due to its icy winters, reached its peak
popularity in the 1970's. The company was sold by Life Savers, and then,
having been re-sold and acquired a number of times, found itself
essentially rudderless and under appreciated; this despite a legion of
loyal consumers. Cost cutting changes were made to the original recipes,
packaging became stale and marketing non-existent; Pine Brothers began
to be made overseas. Sales declined.
Recently, Pine Brothers was acquired by the creator
and former owner of Airborne, Victoria Knight-McDowell, for her new
company 3 Sisters Home Products™. Much time and effort has been spent
locating the original Pine Brothers recipes, redesigning the packaging,
and creating an exciting yet classic new look. The natural product is
once again being made in America, and is launching nationally in
fall 2011. At which time old Mr. Pine, will succeed once again in
"making people happy." God bless him!
Our Thoughts~ These Throat Drops are interesting.. It is really hard to explain.. The softish they are talking about is more of a thick gummy. So they are sorta like a gummy bear only harder in consistency. Which makes them pretty interesting to say the least. I am really horrible at letting my throat drops actually melt the whole way I end up playing with them between my back teeth and crunching down pretty much making their soothing effect voided, due to swallowing small pieces of drop instead of letting the medicine trickle down my throat. However, Pine Bros. Softish Throat Drops really don't allow me to bite down like I usually do. Which is great. Because they are Softish they are harder to bite through and I realize I am doing it and stop trying and in turn allows the medicinal trickle effect that is supposed to happen with throat drops.
I got to try two flavors out of the three. The cherry and honey. Both were not over whelming and easy on the palate. I did feel that my scratch throat was soothed but I did need to keep up with using them consistently. If I forgot to renew it my sore throat would come back.
All in all they worked great and were easy to carry in these little containers (see photo below). You can find them a CVS and other retailers just check their web site. Link is above.
I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using
Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.