Queen Victoria's favorite wine was spiked with cocaine. π· . . . From 1863, Corsican chemist Angelo Mariani sold Vin Mariani β Bordeaux wine steeped with coca leaves, about 6β7 mg of cocaine per ounce. Endorsers included Thomas Edison, Ulysses S. Grant, and Pope Leo XIII, who reportedly carried a personal flask. Coca-Cola was invented as a knockoff after Atlanta banned alcohol in 1885.
Source
Smithsonian Magazine, 2013, 'How Pope Leo XIII Became the Face of a Cocaine-Laced Wine'
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