When was ginger ale invented and was there any “curative” powers associated with it at first, the way there was with Coca-Cola?
SaS
In the U.S. in 1860, an apothecary and surgeon named Thomas Cantrell claimed to have invented ginger ale.
Ginger originated in Southeast Asia, and has a long history of being considered a medicinal root spice.
I know from my own experience that it is good for sea sickness and motion sickness, prevents nausea and warms the body.
Claims are also made that ginger stimulates digestion and circulation, helps to reduce inflammation, and promotes gastrointestinal comfort.
It is related to turmeric which is another medicinal herb, and also to cardamom.
Virtually any “drink” that was promoted in the 19th century was touted to have magical powers.
It’s hard to believe that Ginger Ale wasn’t a derivative of Ginger Beer, which has no acknowledged inventor, and dates back a century or so earlier:
What fun would it be getting the answer from Wikipedia? Most questions on SD could be answered with a quick Google search. It is the discussions and the diverse opinions that make getting the answer here superior than a cold fact sheet.
Ginger beer was fermented, and had alcohol. Mind you there might well have been some connections, like Doc Cantrell going “Hmm, I wonder if I could make a non-alcoholic version”.
Observe that I did not say they were “identical.” Both the ginger ale and the ginger beer articles on Wikipedia point out the close similarities between the beverages.
This is what I was going to say.
Oh, I know that Cal. But you see here in America, most dudes think Ginger Beer is a just a rather strong ginger ale, so they’d think “Sure, right like that dude “invented” Ginger ale, bullshit- all he did was change the name”.
But originally it was a alcoholic beverage, and a pretty strong one too. Nowadays, more or less Ginger beer contains little alcohol.