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Bacchus (Korean:박카스) is a non-carbonated South Koreanenergy drink, launched in 1963 and manufactured by Dong-A Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., part of the Dong-A Socio Group. Its two variantsBacchus-D andBacchus-F have been popular in South Korea for many years.
In the United States it is distributed by Dong-A America Corporation in a 3.3 oz glass bottle (approximately 1/3 the size of aRed Bull).[1]
Bacchus contains the following ingredients:[2]
Bacchus was developed with a strong influence fromLipovitan-D, by Kang Shinho, who had studied medicine inGermany in the 1950s. He named the product Bacchus afterthe Roman god of wine, of which he had seen a statue inside of theHamburg City Hall. Bacchus was introduced in 1961 as atablet (박카스-정), sold in pharmacies as an 'herbal medicine' to prevent colds and cure hangovers.
In 1963 Kang turned it into a drink.[3]
In particular Bacchus-F, with its higher content of 2000 mg ofTaurine, has been a favourite of Korean university students.[4]
With the worldwide rise ofenergy drinks as fashionablemixers in alcoholic drinks likeVodka-Red Bull, Bacchus also has gained a place in American culture. The most common form of consumption is the "Bacchus Bomb", which is produced by pouring a full 3.3 oz bottle of Bacchus into a cup and subsequently dropping a shot glass filled withvodka into the cup, with the resulting mixture being consumed as rapidly as possible.[5][6]
The Bacchus Lady is a South Korean film that was presented in the Panorama section of the66th Berlin International Film Festival. The film depicts the life of an elderlyBacchus Lady, which is a Korean prostitute selling the Bacchus energy drink.
In the 2009 Korean filmMother, directed by Bong Joon-ho, the protagonist is given a bottle of insecticide by his mother in a Bacchus bottle as a child.