Brio is a Canadian variation of a chinotto soft drink. Chinotto is a bittersweet flavoured carbonated soft drink originating in Italy in the 1930s. Brio is known to be a sweeter variant. Brio was created by three Italian immigrants in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

, Ontario, Canada, in 1959—Elio Madonia, who immigrated to Canada in 1950 from Corleone, Sicily, and his partners Giuseppe Panacci and Angelo Pirrello that he had met during his time as an insurance salesman. The chinotto extract is imported from Italy, but bottled in Canada. It has become a popular beverage in Ontario, particularly among Italian immigrants, serving as a marker of identity for the Italian emigrant population in Canada. In April 2018, the

Liquor Control Board of Ontario The Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) is a Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation that retails and distributes alcoholic beverages throughout the Provinces of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. It is accountable to the Legislati ...

launched an alcoholic version of Brio mixed with vodka.

References

Fruit sodas Products introduced in 1959 Canadian drinks {{Soft-drink-stub