Surviving Winter Sore Throats With Pine Bros. Softish Throat Drops

When I was a kid my grandmother always gave me the Pine Bros. throat drops. But as I got older I had not seen them around anywhere. I had to resort to throat drops that tasted nasty (without mentioning any brand names – you all know who you are). I can’t remember ever going to my grandmothers and not having them available.

Pine Bros. Softish Throat Drops – their road to current day:

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 was launched nationally in fall 2011. At which time old Mr. Pine, will succeed once again in “making people happy.” God bless him!

Don’t forget to like Pine Bros on Facebook and follow them on Twitter. You will have access to a great number of contests, giveaways and deals.

I loved Pine Bros. Softish Throat Drops when I was a child. But there are many things I liked when I was a child but totally can’t tolerate now. It seems over time our memories of certain tastes, smells and textures changes. But I can honestly tell you that I tried to see if this tasted or felt any differently than it did way back then – and it all seemed the same (making me even miss my grandmother). The taste in all flavors is not overwhelming – it is mellow with just a touch of sweetness. My favorite is the Wild Cherry but I also love the Lemon Citrus and the Honey Lemon. I am personally not a fan of anything with black licorice flavoring – although my husband loves that flavor. And when the products arrived I actually had a sore throat – for some time actually – so was looking forward to any type of relief I could get. These drops rose to the challenge and eased my sore throat. If you have never had them – they are not soft like gummy bears. That is why they are referred to as softish. They are not quite hard either. They are sort of like a tough taffy. At first they seem hard but once you suck on them a few minutes they soften up. Just like I remembered. If you try to chew them they will stick to your teeth – also just like a remembered. My kids also love these so much.

*********************************************************************************

On a side note – I love the discs. They open fully and the top is a screw on top. You can easily recycle/upcycle these for anything you want. I save mine for ear bud headphones. Otherwise those pesky wires are wrapped around everything in my purse and they become so knotted up I can’t even begin to untangle them. I also love to use the empty containers for my daughter’s earrings. But the kids can use them to carry change while we are camping over the summer. These are seriously the best containers to recycle/upcycle – you can even use them to carry vitamins or anything else you can imagine!

I received payment or one or more of the products or services mentioned above in exchange for an honest opinion. I only recommend products or services I use personally and/or I believe would be helpful for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” The opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own. Your experience with the product(s) or service(s) may differ from mine.

5 thoughts on “Surviving Winter Sore Throats With Pine Bros. Softish Throat Drops”

Lynne @ 365 Days of Baking and More says:
I LOVED these when I was a kid, too! I remember the brown box and loved the honey ones. I had completely forgotten about them until I saw your tweet!
Thanks for the memories and I’m excited to fall in love with them all over again!

December 23, 2014 at 9:15 pm
Athena says:
Oh yeah these are awesome. I am not a throat drop person. Never ever really cared for them – except these! And coincidentally I have a really sore throat all day today. My kids are the same way – not big fans of other brands but love these.

December 23, 2014 at 9:31 pm
Dede says:
Great idea about saving the little discs! I have some of these throat drops in my medicine cabinet and in my work desk. They’re great in a pinch!

December 24, 2014 at 10:40 am
Sara P. (@SensiblySara) says:
I’ve never heard of (or seen!) these throat drops! But I love the little round discs they sell them in. I’m going to see if they have a product locator!

December 25, 2014 at 8:55 pm
Rebecca Swenor says:
I have never heard of Pine Brothers but they sound interesting and I would love to try them. Thanks for sharing.

December 25, 2014 at 10:04 pm

Product Review

Surviving Winter Sore Throats With Pine Bros. Softish Throat Drops