Comments on: Video of the Eating of a 50 Year Old Pine Bros Cough Drop

By: EDDIE

EDDIE — Sun, 23 May 2010 19:09:29 +0000

There might be someone seriously thinking about remaking them,that would be nice….i probably tasted the lemon ones back in the 70′s,that was the last time i remember seeing any Charlie…the honey ones that i got off ebay were about $10 or more for a box…but worth it when you know they’re no longer around.

By: Charlie P

Charlie P — Sun, 23 May 2010 15:08:26 +0000

Has anyone ever looked into finding and/or buying the recipe? Hey Eddie, do you remember the lemon ones?

By: EDDIE

EDDIE — Sun, 23 May 2010 07:49:57 +0000

Charlie, i’ve bought some Pine bros. a couple time on ebay that were probably some of the last ones made and probable fom the 80′s….i ate them all,the Cherry ones were alright but lost alot of the cherry flavor..the Honey ones were sooooo good,i really hated to see them go,but i felt the premium price i had to pay to taste them again was well worth it…i still search for them but haven’t seen any for almost a year now…Your not alone wishing someone would start making them again.

By: Charlie P

Charlie P — Sun, 23 May 2010 00:47:56 +0000

The cherry ones were the best, but you are all forgetting the second best Pine Brothers flavor – LEMON ! that’s right, lemon. I loved them. There were also black ones (licorice, I never ate them) and green ones, that my wife just reminded me, were mint.
Somebody should do some research and find/buy the original recipe and bring them back. Probably make a ton of money.
I would have eaten the cherry one with the white coating. What the hell, you only live once !

By: Joyce Z

Joyce Z — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 04:12:19 +0000

I just bought a new flavor of Jelly Belly jelly beans at the distribution center in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. I have not yet seen them in stores. Anyway, as soon as I tasted them, I realized what they reminded me of–Pine Brothers Honey Cough Drops. If you liked Pine Brothers, you HAVE to find these new Honey Jelly Belly jelly beans. They are fantastic and taste so much like Pine Brothers.

By: Jim M.

Jim M. — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 07:46:30 +0000

Hey Mike–

A few years ago I first read your blog about the questionable safety of ingesting one of the discontinued Pine Brothers brand cough drop.

Recently, I was having a conversation with a younger friend who never experienced those great-tasting delectables, and thought I’d check the Web again for any new information, then found this You Tube video of your acquaintance sampling the PB fossil you sent him.

I also doiscovered a link to a website at PineBrothers Dot-com, claiming to sell the fondly-remembered brand once again. Have you tried that source or know of anyone who has, and if it is legitimate?

I, too, loved the old PB cough drops, both cherry and honey varieties, but especially the cherry-flavored drops. Like some others, I also vaguely remember there might have been other flavor varieties of Pine Brothers at one time, but certainly cherry and honey were the longest manufactured.

I first recall dissolving a PB drop in my mouth in the early 1960s, so these false claims on the Internet, touting the brand as a “1980s” product, are just nonsense. I think this boast just evolved from a person (whose youth was in the 1980s) remembering her/his first experiences with Pine Brothers and the misinformation was perpetuated. But as posts here clearly demonstrate, others remember the product from the 1960s and ’70s, as do I. I suspect the brand was at least first produced in the early 1960s, possibly even earlier.

Do you know which company was the original manufacturer of Pine Brothers, and the location of the company? Did one company manufacturer the product for its entire existence (not counting the revived attempts)?

It is too bad there is no information about Pine Brothers cough drops on Wikipedia. I seem to recall once reading that (despite a claim that once appeared on the PB packaging) the product never contained any actual medication, and that there were never any actual Pine Brothers, just a fictitious concoction conjured up to rival Smith Brothers’ brand.

Do you or anyone else know the whole story about Pine Brothers?

By: Honey

Honey — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 15:02:02 +0000

They are gummy, but hard, none of the substitutes get the consistency right. I used to use them to get out stubborn loose teeth! I was trying to find them online because one of my 6 year old twins has a stubborn tooth, but I don’t think I’ll let her try a 50 year old cough drop, no matter what Steve says.

By: sparkler

sparkler — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 09:04:59 +0000

LOL! Damn! I guess I’m not the only person on the planet stalking the elusive and sadly discontinued Pine Bros. honey cough drop (the cherry ones were awesome too!) I remember them fondly from my youth, soft and chewy, succulent, rare-tasting even before they got extinct. I’ll continue my quest. Why would they quit making these? What were they thinking?? Maybe there’s a copycat recipe online that we can all make in our microwaves at home…??? I’ll check that next!

By: Eddie Loebs

Eddie Loebs — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 02:04:15 +0000

Thanks,i’ll head to cost plus and give them a try!

By: Susan D.

Susan D. — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 00:07:29 +0000

I found a real good substitute for those of us that loved Pine Bros.

They are Dr. Doolittle’s Apothecary Pastilles (est. 1922 and still around!), soft, fruit drops that come in different flavors. Real similar to our beloved Pine Bros.

You can get them at Cost Plus World Markets. I’m loving ‘em!

By: theresa stan

theresa stan — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 00:27:24 +0000

I have been searching for these cough drops forever. will they ever come back?

By: Casca

Casca — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 02:38:07 +0000

Wow. Used to buy and eat the honey ones like candy! It’s amusing so many are still fond of them! I distinctly remember the taste, texture, smell, chewiness, etc. of them. If I remember correct, they weren’t that soft and gooey in the box, you had to suck on them a bit.

By: Eddie Loebs

Eddie Loebs — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 20:41:20 +0000

Hi Virginia, apparently your not alone…there are many of us pine bros. lovers….from what i can tell,they last made them in the 80′s,and Dennis,who has a posting on here had some on ebay…i bought a few boxes,and they where eatable….the cherry ones tasted a little old,but the honey one’s where super good……i ended up eating all i had. There is probably a bunch around somewhere….good luck…Eddie

By: Virginia Sansone

Virginia Sansone — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 17:50:09 +0000

Hey guys, I’m a 70 year old young lady and I LOVE Pine Bros. Cough Drops. I have been searching for them for years. I guess they went out of business. The Smith Brothers must have driven them off, or something.

By: Eddie Loebs

Eddie Loebs — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 20:21:32 +0000

I bought a few boxes of pine brothers cough drops from a lady and also got some from Dennis,who posted above….i ate all of them.About 6 boxes in all…….The boxes had the bar code on them,so they where probably 1980′s i would think….the wild cherry ones didn’t taste all that good,but the honey one’s great…..they were so good……the one’s steve ate were probably 29 years older….that’s all folks