Kinnie facts for kids
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| Type | Soft drink |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Simonds Farsons Cisk |
| Country of origin | Malta |
| Introduced | 1952 |
| Color | Amber |
| Variants | Kinnie Zest Diet Kinnie |
| Related products | Krest Chinotto Irn-Bru Coca-Cola Moxie |
Kinnie is a Maltese bittersweet carbonated soft drink brewed from bitter oranges and extracts of wormwood. It was first introduced in 1952 by the brewery Simonds Farsons Cisk, and continued to be produced by Farsons in Attard, Malta.
Kinnie is brown in colour, and is drunk straight. It holds a reputation for being Malta's favourite non-alcoholic beverage, sometimes even called the 'national soft drink'.
History
Kinnie is the brainchild of Simonds Farsons Cisk's managing director Anthony Miceli Farrugia and was first produced in 1952 as an alternative to the cola drinks that were popular in post-war Europe, specifically Coca-Cola. Its taste was kept deliberately different from its international competition, as Farrugia wanted Kinnie to truly stand out. In 1975, it became the soft drink of the year of the French Comité International d'Action Gastronomique et Touristique.
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Kinnie's recipe is kept secret, though it is speculated to contain ginseng and rhubarb.
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 stronger orange flavour, and is advertised as only having one calorie per bottle. Simonds started selling Kinnie Vita in 2014, which is naturally sweetened using a blend of sugar and stevia leaf extract.
Sales locations
Kinnie is exported to the UK, Italy, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Libya, and Canada, while also being selectively available in Japan.
Kinnie is produced in Australia by Maltese Beverages Pty Limited, under a licence from Farsons.
In March 2009, it was announced that Farsons were going to start exporting Kinnie 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.
Images for kids
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Soft drinks vending machine with a Kinnie advert, in St. Paul's Bay
