Tarkhuna ( ka, ტარხუნა, ) or Tarhun (russian: тархун) is a

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

carbonated

soft drink A soft drink (see § Terminology for other names) is a drink that usually contains water (often carbonated), a sweetener, and a natural and/or artificial flavoring. The sweetener may be a sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice, a su ...

that is flavoured with

tarragon Tarragon (''Artemisia dracunculus''), also known as estragon, is a species of perennial herb in the family Asteraceae. It is widespread in the wild across much of Eurasia and North America and is cultivated for culinary and medicinal purposes. ...

or woodruff. It was first created in the

Kutais Governorate The Kutaisi or Kutais Governorate was a province ('' guberniya'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire. It roughly corresponded to most of western Georgia throughout most of its existence, and most of the Artvin Province (except th ...

of the Russian Empire in 1887, by a young Georgian pharmacist named Mitrofan Lagidze in the city of

Kutaisi Kutaisi (, ka, ქუთაისი ) is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and the third-most populous city in Georgia, traditionally, second in importance, after the capital city of Tbilisi. Situated west of Tbilis ...

. Mitrofan Lagidze began to add odorous chukhpuch containing extract of Caucasian tarragon to sparkling water with natural syrups of his own production. Before the First World War, Lagidze repeatedly received gold medals at international exhibitions for his water. In 1927, the Soviet authorities built a plant for the production of "Lagidze water" in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...

, and Lagidze himself was appointed director.

Availability

As of 2019, tarkhuna is produced in Georgia under "Natakhtari" and "Zedazeni" brands; in Lithuania under "Selita Klasika" as "Tarchunas"; and in Russia, where one of the producers is OAO Narzan under the brand "Ледяная Жемчужина" as "Тархун". The drink became available on the general

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

market for the first time in 1981. The pilot batch was sold on the territory of the Main Botanical Garden of the USSR Academy of Sciences in standard 0.33 liter bottles. Subsequently, its recipe was transferred to food industry enterprises, and, since 1983, "Tarhun" began to be sold in many republics of the USSR and administrative regions of the

RSFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

in bottles of 0.33 and 0.5 liters.

Trademark status

In a trademark dispute between OÜ Acerra and AS Tallinna Karastusjoogid, the Estonian

Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications ( et, Majandus- ja Kommunikatsiooniministeerium) is a government ministry of Estonia. Its head office is in Tallinn.

determined that the word ''Tarhun'' is a descriptive term for the drink, and is thus not trademarkable under the laws of the

Republic of Estonia A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

. In Estonia, it was possible to find both the Estonian-made and Russian-made Tarhun drinks from the same soft drinks aisle, as the soft drink is distilled and bottled in both countries, though by different companies and with slightly different recipes. In 2015, the Estonian soft drinks company AS Tallinna Karastusjoogid, who were the local producer and distributor of "Tarhun", ceased operations, and its owner AS Haljas put the producer on sale to a 'foreign investor', whose name and country of origin has remained unknown. As of 2019, stores in Estonia variously sell tarkhuna lemonades made in Georgia, Lithuania, and Russia; though none of these tarkhuna brands has reached universal distribution across most store chains.

References

Soft drinks Russian drinks Georgian drinks 1887 introductions {{soft-drink-stub