Edwin Wiley Grove
Encyclopedia
Edwin Wiley Grove was a self-made millionaire most famous for his "Grove's Tasteless Chill Tonic." In this chill tonic, which came out 1878, Grove found a way to bottle a quinine
mixture that would eliminate the bitter taste. The tasteless chill tonic, which some claimed was not all that tasteless, was an improvement over taking straight quinine for fevers and chills caused by malaria
. A sweet syrup and lemon flavor was added to Quinine, cinchonine
and cinchonidine
, which were the main ingredients in crystal form in the tonic. Some sources claim that by 1890 more bottles of Grove’s Tasteless Chill Tonic were sold than bottles of Coca-Cola.
His company was called the Paris Medicine Company and it was through this fortune that he built the Grove Park Inn
with his son-in-law Fred Loring Seely
in 1913.
Quinine
Quinine is a natural white crystalline alkaloid having antipyretic , antimalarial, analgesic , anti-inflammatory properties and a bitter taste. It is a stereoisomer of quinidine which, unlike quinine, is an anti-arrhythmic...
mixture that would eliminate the bitter taste. The tasteless chill tonic, which some claimed was not all that tasteless, was an improvement over taking straight quinine for fevers and chills caused by malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
. A sweet syrup and lemon flavor was added to Quinine, cinchonine
Cinchonine
Cinchonine is an alkaloid with molecular formula C19H22N2O used in asymmetric synthesis in organic chemistry. It is a stereoisomer and pseudo-enantiomer of cinchonidine....
and cinchonidine
Cinchonidine
Cinchonidine is an alkaloid used in asymmetric synthesis in organic chemistry. It is a stereoisomer and pseudo-enantiomer of cinchonine....
, which were the main ingredients in crystal form in the tonic. Some sources claim that by 1890 more bottles of Grove’s Tasteless Chill Tonic were sold than bottles of Coca-Cola.
“I had a little drug business in Paris, Tennessee, just barely making a living, when I got up a real invention, tasteless quinine. As a poor man and a poor boy, I conceived the idea that whoever could produce a tasteless chill tonic, his fortune was made.” — E.W. Grove
His company was called the Paris Medicine Company and it was through this fortune that he built the Grove Park Inn
Grove Park Inn
The Grove Park Inn is a historic resort hotel on the western-facing slope of Sunset Mountain within the Blue Ridge Mountains, in Asheville, North Carolina. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the hotel is an important example of the Arts and Crafts style...
with his son-in-law Fred Loring Seely
Fred Loring Seely
Fred Loring Seely was a newspaperman, chemist, inventor and philanthropist.Born to Uriah and Nancy Hopping Seely, in Monmouth, New Jersey, Fred Seely first worked for the Parke-Davis pharmaceutical company and later became an executive for his father-in-law Edwin Wiley Grove's "Paris Medicine...
in 1913.