Hesperidina is a classic Argentine apéritif made from

bitter Bitter may refer to: Common uses * Resentment, negative emotion or attitude, similar to being jaded, cynical or otherwise negatively affected by experience * Bitter (taste), one of the five basic tastes Books * '' Bitter (novel)'', a 2022 nove ...

and sweet orange peels, which contain a high number of flavonoids. The beverage has antioxidant effects because of the flavonoids. Its name was taken from the

Greek myth A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities of d ...

Hesperides In Greek mythology, the Hesperides (; , ) are the nymphs of evening and golden light of sunsets, who were the "Daughters of the Evening" or "Nymphs of the West". They were also called the Atlantides () from their reputed father, the Titan At ...

. The Hesperidina was invented by

Melville Sewell Bagley Melville Sewell Bagley (born July 10, 1838 in Bangor, Maine – died July 14, 1880 in Buenos Aires, Argentina) was the originator of the archetypical Argentine national liqueur Hesperidina and holder of the first patent and trademark to be regist ...

and manufactured by the company established by him, Bagley Argentina. Since Bagley ceased production of Hesperidina, the apéritif has been produced by other brands, such as Tres Blasones and more recently, Grupo Cepas, which acquired the brand in 2018.

History

This alcoholic drink was invented in 1864 by a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

immigrant,

, in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. Bagley was a native of the state of

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

. He had been involved in the dry goods business in New Orleans before the outbreak of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

. After the outbreak he emigrated to Buenos Aires where he worked at "La Estrella" pharmacy, located on Defensa and Alsina streets. Bagley experimented with different formulas to create a digestive beverage using oranges as the main ingredient. Hesperidina would be born from those tests. Hesperidina label 1866

Prior to the official launch of his drink, Bagley held an extensive publicity campaign using posters spread throughout Buenos Aires. Those posters had only the single, cryptic word "Hesperidina" without images or further explanations. The poster campaign lasted three months until Hesperidina was finally launched on December 24, 1864, with an advertisement published in ''La Tribuna'' newspaper. The advertisement touted Hesperidina as a "stomach digestive, prepared with bitter oranges." The immediate success of the apéritif led to imitators and counterfeiting of the product. Alarmed by this development, Bagley convinced the president of Argentina,

Nicolás Avellaneda Nicolás Remigio Aurelio Avellaneda Silva (3 October 1837 – 24 November 1885) was an Argentine politician and journalist, and President of Argentina from 1874 to 1880. Avellaneda's main projects while in office were banking and education ...

, to create a patent and trademark office in 1876 in order to protect his product. Hesperidina was the first product to register as a trademark in Argentina on October 27. Soon after, Bagley had Hesperidina labels printed at the New York Bank Note Company in order to strengthen controls over the product. During the Triple Alliance War (1864–1870) Hesperidina was distributed among Argentine soldiers "to revitalize the wounded" because of its therapeutic effects on stomach problems associated with drinking non-potable water. Beverages, indeed, opened the door to a whole new sector of advertisement pioneered by the Hesperidina campaign and the arrival to the country of worldwide "food and beverage" names such as Real Hollands, Nestlé, Domecq and Bols among others. Hesperidina was produced by Bagley until 2004, when the company sold the brand to "Tres Blasones", which manufactured it until 2018, when "Grupo Cepas S.A." acquired rights to the brand.

In popular culture

The Hesperidina is mentioned in three short stories by Julio Cortázar: ''Casa Tomada'', ''Tía en Apuros'' and ''Circe''. Another writer, Juan Carlos Casas, included Hesperidina in his book ''Fraile Muerto''. Hesperidina also appeared in the short story ''Perdido'' by Haroldo Conti. Tango singer

Roberto Goyeneche Roberto Goyeneche (January 29, 1926 in Saavedra, Autonomous City of Buenos Aires – August 27, 1994 in Buenos Aires) was an Argentine tango singer of Basque descent, who epitomized the archetype of 1950s Buenos Aires' bohemian life, and became ...

described Hesperidina as one of his favorite beverages,Un trago bien criollo que creció con la Argentina
''La Nación'', 14 Oct 2012 which he used to drink at "La Sirena", a bar located on Balbín and Núñez streets in

Saavedra, Buenos Aires Saavedra is a barrio or neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is located in the Northern end of the city, close to Nuñez and Villa Urquiza. Its northern border is Avenida General Paz. Among the main features of the neighbourhood is the P ...

. Hesperidina also appeared in several calendars painted by Gauchesco artist

Florencio Molina Campos Florencio Molina Campos (birth name, Florencio de los Ángeles Molina Campos, August 21, 1891 – November 16, 1959) was an Argentine illustrator and a painter known by his typical traditional scenes of the Pampa. His work represents gauchesco ...

."Hesperidina: el licor que dio lugar al registro de patentes en el país"
iEco (supplement of ''Clarín''), 13 Oct 2014 Another famous person who adopted Hesperidina as his favorite drink was explorer

Francisco Moreno Francisco Pascasio Moreno (May 31, 1852 – November 22, 1919) was a prominent explorer and academic in Argentina, where he is usually referred to as ''Perito'' Moreno (''perito'' means "specialist, expert"). Perito Moreno has been credited as on ...

, who used to drink it during his trips to the harsher regions of southern Argentina."Hesperidina, el retorno de una leyenda"
by Sandra Calvete, Los Andes, 29 Jul 2013 The French musician José de Wravrin, who performed under the name Juan Nirvassed, composed ''Hesperidina: Tango de Moda'' in 1915,
/ref> which would later win first prize in a competition held in

Sociedad Sportiva Argentina The Sociedad Sportiva Argentina was an Argentine multi-sports club sited in Buenos Aires. The headquarters were located in Florida street nº 183 while the stadium was sited in Palermo, next to Hipódromo Argentino. Originally established in 1899 ...

. Hesperidina is also mentioned in the film ''Juan Moreira'', directed by

Leonardo Favio Fuad Jorge Jury (28 May 1938 – 5 November 2012), better known by his stage name Leonardo Favio (), was an Argentine singer, actor and filmmaker. He is considered one of Argentina's best film directors and one of the country's most enduring cul ...

in 1973.

References

{{Commons category Argentine inventions Orange liqueurs Argentine brands

History

In popular culture

See also

References