Vin Mariani

In The Hesperus Prophecy, we learn about Vin Mariani, a cocaine-laced wine. You may know that Coca-Cola once contained cocaine, but there was a time when many beverages contained the now-illicit drug.

Vin Mariani was a wine infused with cocaine, created in the 1860s by French chemist Angelo Mariani. Mixing Bordeaux wine and coca leaves, the wine’s ethanol extracted the cocaine from the coca leaves. Vin Mariani contained 7.2 mg of cocaine per ounce and was marketed to restore health, strength, energy, and vitality.

Many famous people, including Thomas Edison and multiple Roman Catholic Popes, endorsed the drink. Edison said it made him more alert and gave him energy. So the next time you turn on the lights, thank the Colombian drug lords for providing Thomas Edison’s extra boost of inspiration.