Desperately Seeking Pine Bros.
How are these brothers still around? Punks.
Everyone knows cough drops are wolves in sheeps’ clothing. Pretending to cure you of your esophageal ills, these sugary lozenges usually do nothing more than stimulate your salivary glands into wetting your throat down until the next dose. The better they taste, the more you eat, and the less frequently you think about how crappy you actually feel.
When I was little, the undisputed taste leader in cough drops were Pine Bros (also known as “Pine Brothers”) chewy throat lozenges. Actually, back then, I don’t even think they were called “throat lozenges”… just “cough drops”. Short and sweet. They came in Honey flavor and Cherry flavor and had no medicinal value whatsoever. Just soft, chewy, long-lasting, and fabulous on the tastebuds. We ate them like candy. Awesome candy.
I forgot all about Pine Bros. cough drops for about 15 years between the late 80s and around 2002 when I unexpectedly found a reference to them on the internet and had to have them again. Through medichest.com, I was able to order several cases at very reasonable prices. The recipes had changed slightly and the lozenges were now being sold as “glycerine based zinc supplements” by a different company — with nary an actual Pine brother to be found — but they were still great. I ended up buying several more cases until the product suddenly disappeared off the face of the earth a couple of years ago.
Since that time, subsequent product searches have come up empty. There are even posts on eBay offering top dollar for any existing supply.
… which leads to my two questions:
- Does anyone know exactly what happened to these things and why?
- What is currently the most widely accepted substitute for Pine Bros. cough drops in the world today? I’ve recently gotten hip to Airborne Gummy Throat Lozenges which are pretty damned close to the real deal. The upside is that they taste every bit as good as the original, but the downsize is that they are a whopping $3 a pack and you have to pick out the nasty licorice ones from the otherwise great flavors of honey, orange, cherry, grape, and lime. I have also heard that Grether’s Pastilles and even Weight Watchers, believe it or not, are making decent substitutes for the originals. Anyone tried these?
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Are you serious?
Do you have a cold, or do you just like to eat cough drops like candy?
Oooh, when did you add the “Notify me via e-mail of new comments to this entry” option? That’s freakin’ genius! Especially if it could be in a daily digest. Ha.
Yeah - I remember Pine Bros. Like a really chewy gummi bear. My grandparents used to have these around their place, I’ll have to ask them wha happpened to teh Pine Bros.
Oh shit, that’s right, they’re both dead. Anyone up for a seance?
Grether’s are very, _very_ popular around these parts (Switzerland) and I used to eat them a lot like you describe your affection for Pine Bros. (although I cannot compare the two).
Guess the Grether’s are a wee bit pricey in the US, aren’t they? The are around CHF 5 per pack around here ($4).
What are those signs of addiction again? ;-)
I still just gargle the old salt water - just like the nurses forced us to in high school. Then I watch my blood pressure go through the roof from all the sodium. :)
But honestly - I find that those round peppermints - like you find in the baskets in restaurants as you walk out the door - work just as good - actually probably better. They are also great for getting rid of car sickness.
If you want a “cough drop” that tastes good, but has absolutely no medical value whatsoever, I suggest Ludens Cough Drops. When I was a kid, we used to pop these like mints. The cherry are great, they taste like candy and everything you described about the Pine Bros, I immediately thought of these Ludens.
What, you can’t get Buckley’s syrup in Seattle, even? I thought they’d have been exporting it by now. If you can find it you’ll never use weak cough drops again. (Their marketing doesn’t lie; it is nasty horrible stuff. If you’re looking for something that tastes good, keep moving. If you’re looking for something that works though, it’s well worth a side trip to Canada)
Dave’s not kidding. I got the “wonderful” opportunity to use Buckley’s a couple times during my stint in Canada, and yeah… the stuff just works.
Makes you throw up… but it works.
I need to start writing with more clarity. :) Sarah is correct in that my love for great tasting cough drops has nothing to do with their medicinal value. I eat them like candy and I’m not afraid to admit it! Therefore, syrups just will not do. If I have an actual medical condition to deal with, I’ll usually go right to the NyQuil.
Ben W.: Yes, Ludens are pretty damned tasty as well, but I wish they came in a gummi variety like the Pine Bros did.
I like to eat candy like candy. You’re weird.
Worthers, the best cough drop EVER (although labled as just “candy”, thats what I use) Also when i have a sore throught or just want something good thats diffrent i mix lemon juice with water with honney and microwave it.
There is also a carmel in Canada that I always get when i go north of the border (you live here in seattle too so you know that victoria is just a short farry ride) that is just the greatest carmel ever, and I cant think of the name….
I also like butter tarts (which you can only find in canada as well.. but I never found them in victoria… but this has NOTHING to do with the topic other then i was talking about canada)
Maybe you should look into trying something new… just like I am going to trader joes this weekend to get some of that Pizza
Btw, the point about the carmels is the fact that if you have a sore throught they feel really good to just suck on :D It wasn’t random
My long time favorite is “magic mouthwash” - ask your doc next time you’re there. It’s basically half liquid benedryl, half lidocane :)
The “glare” on the picture you’ve included makes it look like Smith Brothers offers a Honey Semen flavor of cough drop.
Tasty.
Well Feh - apparently Pine Bros are no longer around. Found this link.
http://www.highschooltown.com/cgi-bin/eboard30/index2.cgi?frames=no&board=hstown&mode=Current&message=601
I’m thinking if you baked the original (german) gummi bears in an oven at say 275 for about an hour, you might get the same consistency as a Pine Bros.
This theory probably requires testing however.
Anybody got any Cherry-flavored Gummi Bears lying around?
lol, so it looks like when you are looking for that good ‘ol cherry taste drink a beer :D
Hey Mike -
Looks like the guys at hometownfavorites.com still have a selection of Smith Bros. cough drops in stock.
Heh — my grammar-school mates and I learned early on that sore throat = candy at school. The nurse dispensed them liberally. We all hated the honey ones too.
When I eventually got the pocket scratch to buy my own, I dispensed with the candy and went to Halls, Vicks, and other sorts of medicine-suckers. Not until college and walking to class through Boston winters did I upgun to various benzocaine-laden drops chased with Chloraseptic spray or Captain Morgan.
Nowadays I rely on Ricolas and preemptive sick days. I don’t know how clinically effective they are as a preventive, but I swear by Airborne tabs taken prophylactically, especially when surrounding coworkers are barking like tubercular seals.
Airborn is really good… for you… but its only decent TASTING if you mix the citrus, with orange juice.
Ricolas are GREAT though.. :D
Oh, do I remember Pine Bros.! And I too have been longing for them. A few weeks ago I happened upon the Weight Watchers Fruities, sugar free fruit candies, sold in Weight Watchers meeting places. As soon as I tasted the first cherry one I said, “OMG! These are just like Pine Bros. cough drops!”
They are damned close and come in cherry, strawberry, and blackberry. About the size of a Pine Bros. drop, they contain glycerin and have that same wonderful chewy texture. About $3.50 for three packs of a dozen lozenges each. They do contain aspartame.
Try ‘em!
I’d recommend Ricola - Swiss candy, very nice in taste, good for throat, good just for eating as candy as well:)
Not terribly expensive, but you should check… :)
PS From the website:
Looks like this is exactly what you are seeking for! :-D
I’d recommend the:
http://www.ricola.com/index.cfm?0088ED912B351571E7F09FB154817FED
and the:
http://www.ricola.com/index.cfm?00885E322B351571EEA7B72D630FFFC5
..but not all of them but the:
http://www.ricola.com/ricola/images/internet/ric_com_produkte_beutel_bg.jpg
…Zitronen-Melisse kind, yellow bag/box, this is the best one, tastes great, refreshes, no sugar, + the famous 13 herbs inside!
:-D
PS Looks like you fixed the comment form now, I was desperate yesterday - a man in despair, the famous Mike, and he’s seeking a new kind of candies to help him, and here I am to the rescue, trying to reccommend one of the best ever invented on Earth candies to him, the “13 Swiss Herbs Ricola”, and suddenly OH, NO!, technology stops me from doing this, comment form isn’t working!!!
…Oufff! Now I can breathe again! ;-)))
I grew up suckin on Luden’s cherry cough drops. Pure, sweet sugar.
OMG. I was literally browsing the internet for any sign of Pine Brothers and came across this site. Thats hilarious.
We should sign a petition to get them back in the works. I’m sucking on Airborne gummi’s and they are definitely not the same, I dont care what you say. They are actully kind of nasty compared to Pine Brothers.
Ludens, Riccola, blah. They are all hard. :)
Ricola rulllz… unless you’ve tasted Pine Brothers, I guess (something I didn’t)… ;-)
I’m totally addicted to Halls Cough Drops. I don’t think Mike is weird, everyone has their own thing. I am in recovery, and any kind of candy is a must. They have to be the original Metholyptus!!!!! I eat those like candy too. Which brought me to this website. I really did think I was losing it!
Thank you
Concerning Pine Bros Cough Drops, yeas that was certainly an old favorite from my youth. No one so far seems to recall that these came in a variety of flavors…there was cherry and honey, but also there was a mixed flavor package, which contained, I believe a menthol green…if it wasn’t menthol, it was certainly a dark green. My local Harmons’ Discount drug store briefly carried the comeback brand a couple of years ago, which then disappeared once more - no loss, though because both texture and flavor were different, and not very good.
On the candy flavor front, has anyone besides me noticed that TWIZZLERS, NIBS, DOTS, and JUJYFRUITS taste completely different than they used to, (in the case of Dots & Jujyfruit the texture, as well as the flavor) have changed a lot since the ’70s (GOOBERS and RAISENETTES are both different in the chocolate catagory).
I’ve never tried Pine Bros, but then again, I didn’t discover the fabulous world of cough drops until I became an adult. (My grandmother used to give us Sucrets, which if you haven’t had them, taste a bit like I imagine gasoline would taste like.)
I’m partial to Hall’s cherry drops, sans the gooey center.
Gasoline really doesn’t have a smell they add cabbage sent to gasoline so you can smell it so then if it leaks you know it.
I remember them, and was just now searching on line to find them for myself. Needless to say, I am not pleased that they are no longer around. I was craving them, and have not had them for many many years. Just thought I would give it a try, back to my life without them. No you are NOT WEIRD….they are the BEST tasting “Lozenges” by FAR!!!
Check this site out Mike, http://www.bellyachecandyshoppe.com/sayonara.html
This confirms, they are no longer made, guess I am obsessed, also.
AND PISSED!
Glad to see I’m not the only one on the planet trying to find these things! My grandmother always had them around, and they were soooo good. I was searching for them too when I came across this site — I’m really bummed at the confirmation that they’re no longer made!!!
Guess I’ll have to stick with my back-up, Thayers Slippery Elm.
Oh, and thanks for the tip, David — will have to get someone to grab me some of those Weight Watchers things.
What about gummy vitamins? These are my sometimes-vitamins, and they rock!
Gummy Vites and can be found at Sam’s Club of all places @ $6-7 for 220.
I am sitting here typing this and working on my 3rd pack of Weight Watchers cherry fruities. Not exactly Pine Bros., but close enough at this point. I tried the Greathers and the consistency was the same, but the taste was so different. Don’t think I am going down that road again. God, I loved Pine Bros. when I was a kid. I never thought of them as anything other than candy. Haven’t tried the Gummy things mentioned here, but I might.
I’m totally addicted to Halls Cough Drops.
Mike,
I too loved Pine Bros. cough drops as a kid. After your suggestions, I tried Airborne drops — good but with a medicinal wang. Today I received Grether’s Pastilles from New London Pharmacy via UPS…they were great. In ten minutes I have eaten 5…they won’t last long. Go for it–they are as close to the Pine Bros. as I can imagine!
Lee
We’re talking candy here…..
Penny candy, walk in with a dime, walk out like a king. Pretzels in a glass jar. Funny dots on a nasty piece of paper. Gold covered gum in a white fabric bag with a yellow drawstring. Bubble candy, or something like that, great tasting candy in the shape of Charms with a little piece of bubble gum inside……
I would pass all of them up….reach out and grap MY box of Pine Bros Cherry Cough Drops. The best candy on the face of the planet.
Why wouldn’t anyone be interested in making these glorious bits of heaven again. There’s money to be made.
Hi. I’ve had the Grether’s Pastilles in Red Currant and they are really close to Pine Bros. Not exactly the same flavor, but the same rubbery texture. Even the exact same shape. They are expensive though. I really miss Pine Bros. They made a comeback a few years ago, but only with sort of bad Zinc infused drops that had a chalky flavor and only came in honey/lemon.
I think Grether’s Pastilles Red Currant with sugar) are real close to Pine Bros. Unfortunatly, Gunther’s has stopped making them (I just found this out a month ago, when I tried to order them).
This is hilarious!!!!! I just found this site and Pine Brothers chewy red cough drops were my favorite candy! I am DESPERATE FOR THEM!
Does anyone know how to get Delfa Red Rolls, they are red licorice rolls that are like tire treads? What about Broadway licorice rolls and remember the great John C Mueller licorice. If anyone can find this stuff I will pay for yours! I am not kidding!
I am also a Pine Brothers freak. So much so that I have kept two pristine packages from my purchase (one honey and one cherry) for the ingredient and distributor info. My last shot at a purchase of these perfect candies/cough drops was when Eckerd drugs was clearing them out. They had contracted to distribute them about 5 or 6 years ago but they didn’t do well. I contacted the distributor (IVC Industries, Inc. out of Freehold, N.J.) to find out if I could purchase them directly and they told me that for now, they were retiring the product. Maybe if enough of us contact them????
Stacy, as my wife said when I read your e-mail “you have found your sole mate!” I too loved Delfa Rolls, until they stopped making them. I am convinced that it is a conspiracy against me: First Pine Bros., than Delfa Rolls, and now Grether’s Red Currant Pastilles (with sugar). I’m almost afraid to start liking any candy other than Snickers and M & Ms.
I NEED PINE BROS AND DELFA ROLLS. GIMMEE SOME, GIMMEE SOME, I WANT THEM NOW!
I LOVE Delfa Rolls & have not been able to find them for about 2 years now. They use to sell them in Wildwood, NJ on the boardwalk but when I went last year & this year no one has them :(
If you ever find them email me :)
I came across this website because I was in search of the Brothers Pine myself. In the 80’s, I must of bought cases of this stuff. It was one of my regular “candy/cough drop” accompaniments while hanging around and throughout NYC, especially Queens. I remember one of the “key ingredients” - labled “syrup of acacia” often became the way by which I referred to this over the counter gelled elixir in box adorned with portraits of their fine founders. They are remembered well.
Furthermore… I very much enjoyed Delfa Rolls too. I believe they are still readily available if I am not mistaken. However, you may need to locate them at the type of candy store that carries that “old time candy” set theme.
Mike,
I understand your plight for Pine Brothers—no other product is quite the same. Growing up in Chicago, my Mom used to get us those as well. As an adult, up until 2 or 3 years ago, I used to order them from a specialty candy shop in Geneva, IL, but they are no longer being made. The company that originally manufactured them sold the rights and another company made them for a short period of time, with Slippery Elm added, but they did not continue to make them after a few years. Let me know if you track them down but I talked to the patent owner about 2 years ago and they said they would no longer be manufactured.
Best regards,
Nicole
How hard can reproducing these be? I’m impressed at the amount of info. on this blog. I’m willing to attempt to cook up a batch. I have some experience in candy making. If anyone has some suggestions on how to recreate these I’m very interested… Let’s start with corn syrup , syrup of acacia, (thanks John) flavorings (various extracts or essential oils) cooked to “softball” temp (get a candy thermometer) maybe add honey or something maybe adding gummi bears or similar products (French boules de gum). Let’s figure these out just to see if we can… bjourdan2000@yahoo.com anybody want to play?
Just getting off a nasty cold and could have used these.
Bernard: Wow, you should totally do it! As I see it, there are only three ingredients that would be key in producing the old school Pine Bros drops. This came straight from the box of the 1950s drops:
1. Honey
2. Glycerin
3. Gum Arabic
So I guess it’s just a question of proportions and preparation process. Let me know how it goes!
Right-on Mike…Very cool this will be a fun experiment. I’m glad I
came across your site, awesome info. I’ll get back to you soon…Taste-bud
memory don’t fail me now…Have a great one buddy.
I have suddenly desired the Pine Bros. Honey cough drops again after many yrs. They were my absolute favorite. While looking thru the comments I was reminded of the Cherry flavor also which were just as good. I remember the first & only time in my life, & where I was when I actually didn’t end up chewing it. Virtually impossible to suck on them only. Loved the texture & flavor. Am really bummed to find out they don’t make them anymore. Seems I am not the only one out there to desire them!
Back in the 50’s Pine Bros. drops were also a big part of my life. I was into the Menthol flavor but would occasionally get a pack of the Honey flavored drops. Another good menthol drop was the original Luden’s. They all took the place of candy for me and I definitely miss them. Any current drops with menthol also have eucalyptus oil in them which ruins the flavor.
OMG! I have the worst chest cold of my life right now. Coughing so much my throat is like ground meat! I was reminiscing those good ol’ Pine brothers myself. The cherry was the only ones for me. They were like delectable little candies. Here’s the thing Bernard… I was wanting them, not only for the taste and texture, but the key ingredient for soothing a raw throat is glycerin. That’s what set them apart from other cough drops. The lasted and soothed the surface of your throat. I beg you… make them! Please! I would think duplicating the cherry flavor would be the most difficult (can’t go wrong with the cherry flavour of a gummy bear though). Sounds to me like you could make yourself a fortune from those responding here alone! Or if you’re not interested in that, post a recipe so we can make and eat ourselves! Greatest of luck on your experiment!
So far I’ve melted down several Gummi type candies(softball stage 250 degrees) and have added honey with so-so results. I’m searching for “Gum Arabic( I’m thinking is a hardener) which is an original ingredient and hard to find in small quantities( I substituted corn starch) the other original ingredients besides honey are glycerin and appropriate flavorings (mmm Cherry). Thanks for your encouragement (Cat) and I hope you are feeling better. I’m in the 12th day of this miserable cold and my lungs finally cleared yesterday now I just have a congested head (a little pressure). I hope you get better soon and hopefully we’ll have something close to our beloved “Pine brothers” comfort candies/cough drops to sooth us the next time we get sick. Get well soon and I hope I can help with that.
I bought a box of the Airborne drops and, what a disappointment! Those things tasted the way a health food shop (or pet store) smells! Totally disgusting. They do have a similar texture and look, but the taste is gross. The last batch of Pine Bros. were all the “with zinc” variety and those too were ruined by a bad dusty pet store flavor.
Stay away from the Airborne. Somebody needs to cough up (ha!) the old recipe and revive these things. The originals were so, so, so good!
I miss them.
Oh my god. DELFA ROLLS are being discussed here too. I’ve forgotten about them too.
I used to unwrap the whole pack and but the entire “register tape” end into my mouth and just slowly chew it down while I watched Goonies or Flipper re-runs after school.
I want Delfa Rolls, I want Pine Bros. I want them both now.
Go with the Sweedish version … It is as close as you will get to the original and contact
I am also a fan of Pine Brothers cough drops and about any other hard-gummy type candy or cough drop. If you haven’t already sampled Rowntrees fruit gums and pastilles I think you’d really enjoy them. I’m a big-fan of black-currant flavored candies and I stumbled across these enjoyable treats (they come in a variety of flavors) while looking to stock-up on the candy-pantry!
I’m looking for the Pine Brothers Red Chewy cough drop. They came in a red wallet sized square box. I loved them! Had anyone seen them around? They were definitely not hard but chewy once they set in your mouth.
Have a nice day!
Ellen,
If you go back and read from the beginning, you’ll find that this whole discussion started in search of Pine Bros. They’ve been discontinued.
I came across this discussion because I was actually online searching for somewhere to buy them. I miss them! I used to eat them all the time. I remember that there was only one pharmacy in the town where I grew up that carried them. I loved the cherry…even liked the honey once in a while. And yes, I vaguely remember that weird dark green one.
Luden’s are completely different…good, but not the same.
Smith Bros…no thank you.
On another tangent…anyone remember Dynamints? Red/Orange/Purple tic-tac like candies in a tic-tac type box? Those were awesome. You can’t find flavors like that anywhere.
there’s nothing like pine bros. honey drops. i used to eat tons of them. i haven’t been able to find them for years, them and these wonderful honey gummi bears they used to make in woodstock… but last year i happened to wander into a newly opened dollar store on main st. in poughkeepsie, ny and i found pine bros. cherry drops in 3pks. so apparently someone still makes them. and yes, they are still as good as you remember them being. i’d actually forgotten about them for a while but i woke up tonight craving them. so i’m def. stopping there tomorrow to see if they are still around. :) hope this helps all my fellow addicts!
this is a sick comment thread. i remember crying back in 2003 or so when delfa rolls were discontinued, and i continue to miss them. was also a HUGE fan of pine brothers, and i believe a few years ago they started making them again, but haven’t been able to find them in ages. sigh.
i would quit my job and work full time for a candy company if i thought i could manufacture either of these products again.
I have 3 new boxes of the wild cherry Pines Bros. 18 soft drops. I will list them on ebay in the next day or so. I found them today. glycerin-gum arabic etc.
If I’m not mistaken, I have an image in my mind of a teaspoon full of cough syrup being poured down into the shape of a Pine Bros cough drop. I would LOVE a cherry one right now.
I will contact the factory in NJ and ask if they will reinstate the Pine Bros line of delicious “cough drops.” WON’T EVERYBODY READING THIS DO THE SAME?
check out ebay-these end in the next day or so-bid soon
I have been looking for these for quite some time. I am so disappointed to hear they no longer make them. I also am going to write to the company to see if they will start making them again. Let me know if you have any luck finding any.
Add me to the addict list!
I’ve thought about those tastie drops over the years and am disappointed to here we can’t get them anymore. If anyone uncovers a stash let me know, I’m in for several cases.
About 4 or 5 years ago I found Pine brothers drops online at the vermont country store…they only had the cherry flavor and I ordered a case of them. They were the greatest and the same as they were from the 80’s. My grandparents started me on them and I loved them. I haven’t seen them since and I keep checking the Vermont COuntry store but they don’t sell them anymore. We should call them and ask them to put them back into production.
I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR THE PINE BROS. COUGH DROPS FOR YEARS….SO SOOTHING FOR A SORE THROAT……NO STRONG MEDICINAL TASTE…………..WHERE DO I CALL TO GET MY VOTE IN TO GET THESE BACK ON THE SHELVES…THERE IS MONEY TO BE MADE WHOEVER HAS THIS PATENT………DUH?
I’m another one who was on the web searching for Pine Bros. and found your site. I actually found them in a drugstore near my home about 2 years ago and bought all the ones they had. The store closed shortly thereafter and I haven’t been able to find them since. If anyone finds someone with a ’stash’, or you can reproduce them or have the makers put them back on the market, I would love to know about it.
Thanks for the link, Mike!
Why is Sarah so nasty and sarcastic? We are having a nice conversation about the Pine Bros. cough drops and she feels the need to make two comments that make her sound like a miserable ass.
Maybe she is actually having withdrawals!! ha!
please forward me any info on where to buy pine bros. cough drops!!! my favorite, and i cant find them anywhere.
I didn’t know I wasn’t alone in my fruitless search for Pine Bros. and all things glycerine! I was looking for an affordable lot of redcurrant Gerther’s Pastilles and found this lovely mourning site! I, too, scored some PineBros. a few years ago from the Vermont Country Store and now they are unavailable. Gerther’s are pretty good substitute but pricey, esp. if you really chew through em’. Also worth considering are Puntini Frutti Assortiti another glycerine candy. I get them in the Macy’s candy department 18.00 per pound . The flavors are natural fruit tasting and they are hard and chewy. I see there is a web address on the label http://www.checksmatescandy. I haven’t checked this out yet.
I ALSO LOVED THE PINE BROTHERS COUGH DROPS HAVE BEEN SEARCHING FOR THEM EVERY TIME I GET SICK. I CRAVE THEM
LET ME KNOW IF ANYONE FINDS THEM OR MAKES SOMETHING CLOSE.PLEASE E-MAIL ME. MARY
GOOD MEMORY FROM MY CHILDHOOD
WOW - I was so happy to find other Pine Bros. devotees - however very sad that we can’t get them anymore. I came across this when I tried to check online to purchase them. Oh…if I ever knew that they would be gone I would have bought cases of them and rationed them! In hopes of finding them again I completed on online form to request hard to find items at the VT Country Store. Maybe if they get enough of requests for them they’ll carry them again. http://www.vermontcountrystore.com
Thanks for the memories…one last thing….I think Bernard was trying to make a homemade batch - any luck?
I had disappointing results melting down gummi bears and adding honey, they got to hard at 260 degrees on the candy thermometer(you can try 250 or 240 degrees with possible better results) but the flavor wasn’t bad. I have been resorting to dehydrating gummi bears with better results although they do not contain glycerine or honey, they sort of work for me…. I highly recommend Haribo type gummi’s as the have a harder texture right out of the bag. Currently I am dehydrating Black Forest type gummi bears but I don’t care for the flavor or texture of them as much as the Haribo type. My process for dehydrating them is to set a dehumidifier at 40% with a fan on them for 72 hours or more…. someone suggested putting them in an oven at low temp (175) for a few hours. I’ll try that next. I have contacted Haribo with a request for single flavor of the bears with no results so far…This comment board is great and I hope to figure out a way to bring these favorite cough drops of ours back. For fun I would like to hear suggestions on what we can rename these babies once I figure out the recipe or method for recreating them… Your all very cool and I would like to thank Mike Davidson for this forum….Always checking-in….Bernard
I was glad to find your site, sad to hear they are not making pine bros any more. there was comfort in knowing that I am not the only one who would love to be reunited with these old friends. I have had the flu and a killer cough and went to the health store and grab some honey cough drops (Ambofoli candies) and was taken back to the flavor of the pine brothers. the texture is hard with a soft center, good but not the same. Had almost forgotten about how much I loved them. Grew up in New England and seemed we needed a lot of cough drops but they were definitely more a sweet treat, it a wonder i didn’t pull all my back teeth out cause I wasn’t very good at remembering only to suck them. Would love to know if any are found or recreated. I did find pine brothers licorice from CA i think, not our some pine bros I don’t think, less they loaded up the truck and moved ….
Having been sick with the worst cold I’ve had in years, I began thinking of the cough drops my mom used to get for me when I was a child. Pine Brothers Cherry Cough Drops. No matter how bad I felt, they always made my throat feel better. When I couldn’t fine them anywhere in my area, I decided to look for them using the internet. I am really disappointed they are no longer made. Don’t you think somebody should take the hint and start to manufacture them again? There are sure plenty of us looking for them. The hard cough drops just don’t do the same.
I remember those good ole Pine Bros cough drops. I ate them like candy as a kid in the 70’s. I’ve searched for them in the 90’s and found them occassional at the odd local variety store…,but I would love to buy a case or two if anyone knows if there are still being produced.
I found something that tastes very similar to the Pine Bros cherry cough drop. They are called Georgies Chewy Bonbons. They are great! Their website is http://www.vipdiabetes.com.
Mike, i COMPLETELY inderstand your affinity for Pine Brothers as I have the same fondness for them. If you ever find where to obtain a box PLEASE let me know at oceanlv3@aol.com
thanks!
Laura
I’m on it now…
Would’t it be nice for some entranepeur to revive Pine Brothers and make TONS OF MONEY?????
I LOVED PINE BROTHERS!!!!!
My grandparents had introduced me to Pine Bros. (I am partial to the honey flavor myself), and when I recently helped my aunt clean out my grandparent’s apartment after they had passed away, we found several boxes of them put away. I took three, of which one is already gone. Even several years old, as these must be, they are still great! Put my vote in for bringing them back!
I NEED these. Have been looking all over the internet !! My dad is a pharmacist, I am going to ask him.
I too have been looking for Pine Brothers…I LOVE THEM!! I still walk into drug stores looking for them… Please let me know if anyone has found them. I would buy boxes and boxes of them!
Another cherry Pine Bros. fan here! What a great discussion; really takes me back. I haven’t thought about Delfa rolls and Dynamints in forever! Sad to hear about Delfa rolls being discontinued, but I remember that the cheap cherry ropes you could buy in any drugstore had a similar taste and texture, if not shape. I used to take cherry Pine Bros. to eat during movies. Would love to find them again!
DELFA ROLLS are back in disguise!!!
I found a candy last summer called RIP ROLLS strawberry flavor and as I sucked on this sour sugar coated mess I soon noticed a familiar taste and texture underneath and as I started to realize what i had in my mouth I think tears started because there was no doubt it was a Delfa Roll… I kid you not. I went nuts and bought another one and took it home and cleaned off the coating and holy shit it was heaven again in my mouth. Delfa Roll…. Delfa Roll… Delfa Roll !!!
I finally after months called the company and told them they are sitting on a gold mine and don’t even know it. Please remove that crap sour coating and let the good times roll, I told the chick. The USA distributor of this candy is The Foreign Candy Company you can call them toll free at 877-937-8322. The candy is actually made in Holland, close enough to Denmark… The land of Delfa Rolls!!!!!!!!
Sorry, I thought the WEBSITE on the comment form was for the link for you folks, but that must be for some other reason.
http://www.foreigncandy.com/
OMG! I was given a packet of Grether’s Pastilles last week and had such a Pine Brothers craving that I’ve been on a tear looking for them. This site just tells me I’m not alone in my quest! Cudos to Bernard for trying to work on a new recipe! Fond Fond memories abound regarding those Pine Bros. chewy delites and I too remember the ‘mixed’ pack I’d get once in a while and suffer through the nasty dark ones! Also a great suggestion is Vermont Country Store. They’re great in bringing back nostalgia with enough persuasion. And last but not least I LIVE in Freehold NJ - last known distribution location and will also call IVC Industries.
The Grethers is a so so substitute as it just makes me long for the real Pine Bros. but definately the same consistancy and chewy goodness. They didn’t last long. I’m down to my last 2 drops and getting nervous.
I USED TO LOVE THOSE COUGH DROPS AS A KID, DO THEY STILL MAKE THEM AND WHERE CAN I BUY THEM?
OMG, I’m SO happy I’m not the only person who misses Pine Brothers cough drops!! Man, those things were just the BOMB…the best “candy” ever made. After I couldn’t find them anymore, I switched to Jujubes because the orange and purple ones (yes, I picked out those two colors and gave the rest to a woman I work with who likes the red, yellow and green ones) were pretty similar to Pine Brothers. Then, a few years ago, the Heide Candy Company changed the recipe (or something) and just totally wrecked ‘em.
The only candy that even comes close now are Ricolo Cough Drops, those Weight Watchers gummie candies that a few people have mentioned (except that they kind of give me a bellyache if I eat too many..and they’re really expensive) and….IF you can find them….Checkmates Candy Company makes these little candies called Puntini Frutti Assortiti that are pretty freakin’ awesome. Checkmates is sold out of them right now, but I DID find a place on-line (just Google Puntini Frutti Assortiti) that sells them…and I think it you won’t be disappointed with the ten or fifteen bucks it’ll cost you to get them.
Wow, that is so funny, because i am a member of weight watchers and i never even tried those fruities. I may have to!. Thanks.
Someone on here mentioned they had talked to the patent owner for for the Pine Bros drops. If there’s a patent, then it’s a public record. Can anyone dig up the patent number for these things? You won’t be able to sell them, but you might at least be able to make them.
Pine Brother wrote that he had a vision of a teaspoon of cough medecine being poured into a cough drop. HAA haaa, that’s the Pine Brothers commercial! I’m 52 and they were a nickel a box at the candy store. You could buy all three. The honey, the cherry (the best) and the mixed. That green one was really wierd. I lived in Jersey City, NJ and my sister and I both loved them. The only substitute I’ve found are REALLY chewy gummy bears. Gold Emblem Imported from CVS are good. Thanks for the memories everyone.
It looks like I was the only person who liked the black licorice flavor. My second favorite was honey. I bought a box everyday and ate them in school because after all they were cough drops. I have a cough right now which is what prompted me to look on line for Pine Bros. I’m amazed at how many others are craving this product. Why did they ever stop making them? I hope someone sees the demand and starts making them again.
This is high-larry-us!!! I’ve been looking for them for years, so now I have this blood pressure medicine that makes me cough til I dry heave, I’ve lost my voice, and my throat feel like someone used a blow torch on it. My wife called from the store, and I asked for cough drops, and it made me search online, because it never occurred to me that I would find other addicts, so we will all suffer as one!!! Bernard, what’s the scoop? Any luck yet?
Hang Tough, Tap
There are so many of us who were totally addicted to these as kids, why doesn’t someone start making them again?
Yes, agreed: cherry best, honey OK and menthol & licorice not so good.
And yes I have since become very enamored of the Airborne gummy lozenges. The texture is just right, the taste is not quite as good, but it’ll do.
I have a sore throat today and know that nothing can soothe it the way Pine Bros used to. I agree. Cherry first. Honey second, and the menthol is regrettable, perhaps their attempt to compete with Vicks before they closed up shop.
I was eating an cherry Airborne today and couldn’t get Pine Bros. out of my mind. My husband never had them and couldn’t relate in the least. I am so glad to see that others long for them, too.
Just to put it out there, I often wish Katjes still made gummy bears like they did in the ’80s. No comparison to the ones out there today.