Pine Bros. Softish Throat Drops Review

Pine Brothers has been a trusted brand and has been soothing throats for over 140 years and was originally made here in America and now returns to it's homeland and once again is being made here in America. Here is the history of the Pine Brothers company and I have to say, it is quite interesting.



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. Pine Brothers is once again being made in America, and was launched nationally in fall 2011. And indeed, old Mr. Pine has succeeded yet again in "making people happy." God bless him!


I was given the opportunity to review the Natural Honey and Wild Cherry flavored Softish Throat Drops from Pine Brothers. Are you thinking what I was thinking when you seen the word softish? I was like? What exactly is softish? Well, I will tell you what softish is not. It is not like a gummy. It is not like a normal hard crunch throat drop. Now, does that explain it? It is in between a gummy and a hard throat drop, kinda like a squishy and chewy drop I guess.
 

The nice thing about these throat drops being softish and not hard and a choking hazard, is that you can give them to kids as young as the age of three. 

Another nice thing about them is that I didn't find myself leaving it stuck in the side of my mouth up against my teeth like I do the hard ones. I found myself messing with it all the time. Maybe it was just because it was not just a regular throat drop it was a whole new experience. I have never had a softish, throat drop before and I was trying to figure out how to explain what it was.

Now, when I tried the Wild Cherry I was quite surprised at how mild the flavor was. I was expecting a more sweet flavor because most throat drops and cough drops seem to be pretty sweet tasting. That is when I noticed that these only have 5 calories per piece and 1 gram of sugar.

When I tried the Natural Honey flavored drops I got a hint of a flowery taste. I really liked the flavor, I have just never tried anything honey flavored before so I was surprised 
when it had a flowery taste along with the gentle numbing sensation.
 

These throat drops come in packages of 32 count and they also come in a puck that has 26 count that you can refill. The nice thing about the puck is that you can carry in along in your purse, your pocket, keep it in your car, kids can carry it in their bookbags, etc. I will have one in my purse with a mixture of the Natural Honey and Wild Cherry in it along with one in my car and I am giving dear Hubby one to put in his vehicle also.

You can check out Pine Brothers on the website by clicking HERE, where you can check out where you can find stores that sell Pine Brothers Softish Throat Drops or you can follow them on one of the links below.

         

Disclaimer: I have received product from Pine Brothers in return for this review. I have stated my honest opinion and in no way was paid for a positive review. Images and information are from Pine Brothers.