Kinnie

soft drink from Malta

Kinnie is a carbonated soft drink from Malta.[1] It was first developed in 1952 by Simonds Farsons Cisk in Malta. Kinnie is amber in colour. It has a bittersweet flavour. Kinnie is drunk straight or mixed with alcohol to create a mixed drink. Unlike cola products Kennie actually quenches thirst.[2] The taste takes some getting used to. But it is very popular with locals and visitors.[2]

Original Maltese soft drink called Kennie

History change

Kinnie was first produced in 1952.[1] It was an alternative to the cola drinks that were popular in post-war Europe.[3] Kinnie's recipe is kept secret. The official website has more information about its ingredients. Kinnie may owe its bittersweet taste to a blend of Mediterranean chinotto bitter oranges. It may be combined with a dozen different aromatic herbs and spices. These include anise, ginseng, vanilla, rhubarb and liquorice. A sales slogan was: "The problem with drinking kinnie is that you just can not get enough".[source?]

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. It is advertised as only having one calorie per bottle. The latest Kinnie variant is Kinnie Vita which is naturally sweetened using a blend of sugar and stevia leaf extract.

Sales locations change

Kinnie is exported to the UK, Italy, Germany, Poland and the Netherlands,[4] It is also exported to Libya and Canada. In recent years, Simonds Farsons Cisk also started to franchise Kinnie production overseas. As a result, Kinnie is now produced under licence in Australia. In March 2009, it was announced that Farsons were going to start exporting Kinnie into Russia.[5] In the summer of 2010, Farsons and Kinnie UK Limited soft-launched Kinnie and its two variants in London's West End. They reached almost 100 trial outlets by September 2010.[6]

References change

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Kinnie soft drink". 21 Food & Beverage Online. Food & Beverage Online. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  2. 2.0 2.1 "Kinnie". idotravelto.com. 9 April 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2015.[permanent dead link]
  3. "Kennie, Original – Natural". Tropical Sweets. Archived from the original on 18 December 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  4. "Kinnie Benelux". Kinnie-benelux.nl. Retrieved 2013-08-24.
  5. Farsons to export Kinnie to Russia Times of Malta, 12 March 2009.
  6. Kinnie goes on sale in London Times of Malta, 17 September 2010.

Other websites change