L'arbre quinquina
A SACRED TREE
That has saved millions of lives.
The Quinquina tree is a small tree, about ten meters high, native to Central America and the Andes Mountains in South America. It is best known for its bark, which contains numerous substances with recognised medical properties.
Among these substances, quinine, extracted from the bark of the tree from which it takes its name, has saved millions of people around the world, thanks to its antiviral action on many influenzas, and more particularly on malaria.
For this reason, the tree is sacred in Peru, where it appears on the national coat of arms.
When the British colonised India, they already knew about the qualities of quinine. To protect themselves from viral diseases, they regularly consumed it in the form of drinks in which Quinquina bark was macerated.
In 1870, Schwepps, which until then had only sold fizzy water, added quinine to its soda to suit the local market. Today, the drink is known as "Indian Tonic" throughout the world.
CINCHONA IN WINE
As an aperitif
10 years before Schweppes, in 1860 in Morges, in the Gamboni & Salina distillery, Quinquina bark was infused in alcohol with other beneficial substances, then the infusion was incorporated into wine. The STIMULANT was born!
Wines fortified with quinine, such as the STIMULANT, become popular throughout France. BYRRH - ST RAPHAEL - DUBONNET to mention only the best known. They took the name of "Quinquina". They were famous for their tonic, fortifying, stimulating, digestive and febrifugal properties. But consumers shunned them in the 1960s. Some disappeared.
Today, however, the trend is reversed and their consumption is increasing every day.
So after an absence of half a century, the STIMULANT is back, it is called STIM’
