Sedna was an alcoholic beverage made in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

, Ireland, and sold as a " tonic". In its earlier days it was made from

port wine Port wine (also known as vinho do Porto, , or simply port) is a Portuguese fortified wine produced in the Douro Valley of northern Portugal. It is typically a sweet red wine, often served with dessert, although it also comes in dry, semi- ...

with the addition of extracts of

coca leaf Coca is any of the four cultivated plants in the family Erythroxylaceae, native to western South America. Coca is known worldwide for its psychoactive alkaloid, cocaine. The plant is grown as a cash crop in the Argentine Northwest, Bolivia, Al ...

kola nut The term kola nut usually refers to the seeds of certain species of plant of the genus ''Cola'', placed formerly in the cocoa family Sterculiaceae and now usually subsumed in the mallow family Malvaceae (as subfamily Sterculioideae). These cola ...

and

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantity ...

. From around 1923 its only advertised additive was the kola extract. The brand name was later used in Australia for a similar product, locally produced.

History

Sedna was first manufactured by Snaed Manufacturing Company (later Deans, Logan & Co. Ltd.), of 16 Commercial Court, Belfast, and went on sale in 1897. In 1898 the company had secured 10 outlets, which had grown to 100 in 1899. It has been suggested the brand name was chosen as "Andes" (source of the coca extract) spelled backwards, but it may be significant that both "Sedna" and "Snaed" are anagrams of "Deans". Alex Deans was a principal of the company, and uncle of George Deans (1875–1938), head of

Charles Moore and Co. Charles Moore and Co. was a company based in Adelaide, South Australia which owned a number of department stores in three Australian States and territories of Australia, states. It was founded by Irish Australian, Irish-born businessman, Charles ...

Perth, Western Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, emporium. The company was in the hands of a liquidator in 1932.

Australia

Sedna was from 1908 imported into Australia and marketed by the

Seppelts Seppeltsfield, one of Australia's oldest wineries, was founded in 1851 by Joseph Ernst Seppelt. The Seppeltsfield winery is well known for its signature wine, the 100-year-old Para Tawny. History Joseph Ernest Seppelt, a merchant who sold ...

wine company. The trade ran both ways – Deans and Logan marketed

Australian wine The Australian wine industry is one of the world's largest exporters of wine, with approximately 800 million out of the 1.2 to 1.3 billion litres produced annually exported to overseas markets. The wine industry is a significant contributor ...

s in Britain. In New Zealand it was classed as a "tonic" and only sold in chemist's shops, while in Australia it was classed as an alcoholic beverage and legally sold only in licensed premises. In 1920 two

Rundle Street, Adelaide Rundle Street, often referred to as "Rundle Street East" as distinct from Rundle Mall, is a street in the East End of the city centre of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It runs from Pulteney Street to East Terrace, where it becomes ...

businesses were fined for selling the product: Foy & Gibson (a major department store), and

Birks Chemists Birks Chemists is a pharmacy in Adelaide whose origins date back to the 1850s. History George Napier Birks (24 October 1838 – 14 September 1895) and William Hanson Birks (28 December 1841 – 5 August 1925) were sons of Dr. George Vause Birks (c ...

. Chemists in country areas were convicted of sale of Sedna and Maltox (a similar product made by Bickford's), evidence being produced by police "

sting operation In law enforcement, a sting operation is a deceptive operation designed to catch a person attempting to commit a crime. A typical sting will have an undercover law enforcement officer, detective, or co-operative member of the public play a role a ...

s". Outrageous behaviour by persons who became

inebriated Alcohol intoxication, also known as alcohol poisoning, commonly described as drunkenness or inebriation, is the negative behavior and physical effects caused by a recent consumption of alcohol. In addition to the toxicity of ethanol, the main ps ...

on the tonic has been ascribed to the

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...

and

caffeine Caffeine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant of the methylxanthine class. It is mainly used recreationally as a cognitive enhancer, increasing alertness and attentional performance. Caffeine acts by blocking binding of adenosine t ...

content of Sedna. After 1923 advertisements no longer mentioned coca and beef in advertisements for the product, kola remaining an essential ingredient. At some stage Sedna sold in Australia was locally produced by the Seppeltsfield company, and it is likely but by no means certain that Seppelts purchased rights to the brand name from Deans & Logan's liquidators c. 1932. Later bottles are clearly marked "PRODUCE OF AUSTRALIA", and the product has been identified by wine writer Philip White as based on

Grenache Grenache () or Garnacha () is one of the most widely planted red wine grape varieties in the world. Niels Lillelund: ''Rhône-Vinene'' p. 25, JP Bøger – JP/Politikens Forlagshus A/S, 2004. . It ripens late, so it needs hot, dry conditi ...

port from the Para vineyard. It was sold in 750ml bottles and had an alcoholic content 33%

proof Proof most often refers to: * Proof (truth), argument or sufficient evidence for the truth of a proposition * Alcohol proof, a measure of an alcoholic drink's strength Proof may also refer to: Mathematics and formal logic * Formal proof, a con ...

. It has been reported as containing 15

grains A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legume ...

per fluid ounce (around 30g/litre) of kola nut powder, perhaps 60 mg/100 ml of caffeine. (

Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks of Austria, Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With 38% market share, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2019. Since its launch in 1987, more than 100 billion cans of Red Bull have been sold worldwid ...

contains 32 mg/100 ml). Marketing of Sedna in Australia ceased some time after 1950. Early postcards advertising the product appear to be quite collectible and are advertised for sale at prices between $50 and $100. It has no connection to the wine made in the

Napa Valley AVA Napa Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in Napa County in California's Wine Country. It was established by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) on January 27, 1981. Napa Valley is considered one of the premier ...

or the vodka made in

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

Gallery

Lithographed postcards from Deans & Logan, Belfast c. 1900 advertising their "tonic" ''Sedna'' File:Sedna1.jpg File:Sedna2.jpg File:Sedna3.jpg

References

{{Reflist Patent medicines Alcoholic drinks from Northern Ireland Australian wine Caffeinated alcoholic drinks