Kinnie is a soft drink

Soft drink

A soft drink is a non-alcoholic beverage that typically contains water , a sweetener, and a flavoring agent...

 from Malta

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

. It was first developed in 1952 by Simonds Farsons Cisk.

Kinnie is amber in colour, has a bittersweet flavour, and is drunk straight or mixed with alcohol to create a long drink

Long drink

A long drink or tall drink is an alcoholic mixed drink with a relatively large volume . In Finland, the term refers to a type of premixed, ready to drink alcoholic beverage....

.

History

Kinnie was first produced in 1952 as an alternative to cola drinks that had proliferated post-war Europe.

Kinnie's recipe is kept secret. However the official website provides further information about its ingredients, suggesting that Kinnie owes its bittersweet taste to the blend Maltese Mediterranean chinotto bitter oranges, combined with an infusion from a dozen different aromatic herbs and spices such as anise

Anise

Anise , Pimpinella anisum, also called aniseed, is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae native to the eastern Mediterranean region and Southwest Asia. Its flavor resembles that of liquorice, fennel, and tarragon.- Biology :...

, ginseng

Ginseng

Ginseng is any one of eleven species of slow-growing perennial plants with fleshy roots, belonging to the genus Panax of the family Araliaceae....

, vanilla

Vanilla

Vanilla is a flavoring derived from orchids of the genus Vanilla, primarily from the Mexican species, Flat-leaved Vanilla . The word vanilla derives from the Spanish word "", little pod...

, rhubarb

Rhubarb

Rhubarb is a group of plants that belong to the genus Rheum in the family Polygonaceae. They are herbaceous perennial plants growing from short, thick rhizomes. They have large leaves that are somewhat triangular-shaped with long fleshy petioles...

 and liquorice. Only natural ingredients are used.

As the health awareness increased over recent decades, a Diet version for Kinnie appeared in 1984. In 2007, a new low calorie version of Kinnie called Kinnie Zest was made available. This has a slightly darker colour and a stronger orange flavour, and is advertised as only having one calorie per bottle.

Sales locations

Kinnie is exported to Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, Albania, Libya, Hungary and Canada. Kinnie is also available for direct purchase by consumers in Europe via on-line distribution partners based in Germany and Italy.

In recent years, Simonds Farsons Cisk also started to franchise

Franchising

Franchising is the practice of using another firm's successful business model. The word 'franchise' is of anglo-French derivation - from franc- meaning free, and is used both as a noun and as a verb....

Kinnie production overseas. As a result, Kinnie is now produced under license from Farsons in Australia and deals are being struck with partners in Eastern Europe and South Africa.

In March 2009, it was announced that Farsons were going to make Kinnie exports into Russia. In the summer of 2010, Farsons and Kinnie UK Limited soft-launched Kinnie and its two variants in London's West End, reaching almost 100 trial outlets by September 2010.

Bottled Kinnie is now available from amazon.co.uk.