Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.
Pine Bros Softish Throat Drops are lozenges with a long history. Their stoy begins in 1870, when J. Herman Pine and his brother started selling 'Pine Brothers Glycerin Tablets'. They were created as an attempt to soothe his own sore throat. He determined that combining the natural soothing qualities of glycerin with the healing properties of gum acacia could help soothe and ease the mild discomfort of a sore throat. Some natural flavoring and sweetener was added, and these throat drops were born.
I received numerous bags and a few pucks in three of the flavors to test out, all in a nice canvas tote bag. What you below are the Natural Honey drops. The bubbles in some of the pieces just looked so pretty that I couldn’t resist. Size-wise, they’re as big as a typical cough drop.
Ingredients
Natural Honey: Gum Acacia, Sugar, Honey, Corn Syrup, Glycerine, Natural Flavor, Sunower Oil, Caranuba Wax
Wild Cherry: Gum Acacia, Sugar, Corn Syrup, Glycerine, Citric Acid, Natural Flavor, Colored with Elderberry Concentrate, Sunower Oil, Caranuba Wax
Licorice: Caramel Color, Carnauba Wax, Corn Syrup, FD&C Lake Colors (Blue #2, Yellow #6 and Red #40), Gum Acacia, Licorice Root Extract, Natural Flavor (Anise Oil), Sugar, Sunflower Oil, Water
Overall, the ingredients are pretty good. Those with gluten intolerance need not worry. All of these are gluten-free. If you’d like to check out the nutrition facts for these drops, you can find them on the Pine Bros website by clicking the image of the three flavors above.
The only thing I don’t like is the artificial coloring in the Licorice flavor. I understand that most people expect black licorice to be black, but color doesn’t matter to me. I’d be happier without it.
Packaging
Each flavor comes in a bag or a puck. The bags have 32 drops, while the pucks have 26. Of all of my family and friends that tried these, they liked the pucks better. Since the drops in the bags aren’t individually wrapped, it would be nice if the bag were resealable, to keep the drops fresh and sanitary. With the pucks, you don’t have to worry about that, because you can just close them back up. Plus, they’re the perfect size for travel.
Flavor
Natural Honey: The honey flavor is a little mild, to me, but my mom thinks there’s plenty of honey flavor. It’s a bit like clover honey, and is sweet without being overly so. This is also the flavor that some of my friends chose.
Wild Cherry: This is the flavor that my husband prefers, but he says it’s not quite as strong as his favorite cherry throat drop, which is a kid’s lozenge sold in Germany. I, however, think the cherry flavor is pretty good, and is stronger than the honey.
Licorice: This is my favorite of all the flavors, as well as my dad’s. It’s the strongest of the flavors, and the black licorice seems to help somewhat like a mentholated cough drop does.
How Soft is ‘Soft-ish’?
It’s about the same as an old-fashioned licorice. You know, the somewhat hard stuff that you have to gnaw on for a while, not that soft Twizzlers stuff. Everyone that I had try it seemed to liked the consistency of it. I love it.
Effectiveness
The verdict is kind of split 50/50. While my parents and I like them to help with coughing spells and throat clearing issues, my friends with terrible coughs from a cold didn’t feel they were quite up to the strength they needed. I think, if you have a mild scratchy or sore throat, or you’re just having a random coughing spell, they’re pretty good. If you’re coughing to beat all, though, they might not be enough.
To be honest, nobody that I had try these actually had a sore throat in the amount of time that was given to review this product. Scratchy? Yes, but not sore. So, whenever anyone gets a sore throat, I will be updating this review. Meanwhile, if you have a scratchy throat, or you keep feeling the need to clear it, give them a try.
If you’d like to get some, you can find them all on the Pine Bros website. If you’d rather pick some up at the store, you can find out what stores carry them by clicking here. There’s also a Lemon Citrus flavor coming in 2015-2016! And… You can get free throat drops, if you’re an opera singer! Details here.
I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.
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