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Bacchus (Korean: 박카스) is a non-carbonated South Korean energy drink, launched in 1963 and manufactured by Dong-A Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., part of the Dong-A Socio Group. Its two variants Bacchus-D and Bacchus-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 a Red Bull).^[1]

Ingredients

Bacchus contains the following ingredients:^[2]

Water
High fructose corn syrup
Sugar
Taurine
Inositol
Guarana extract
Royal jelly
Nicotinamide
Pyridoxine HCl
Riboflavin sodium phosphate
Thiamine
Nitrate preserved with sodium benzoate
Ethanol
Citric acid anhydrous
Sorbitol
Apple juice
Sodium chloride
Natural essences (orange pineapple, strawberry)
Artificial flavor

History

Bacchus was developed with a strong influence from Lipovitan-D, by Kang Shinho, who had studied medicine in Germany in the 1950s. He named the product Bacchus after the Roman god of wine, of which he had seen a statue inside of the Hamburg City Hall. Bacchus was introduced in 1961 as a tablet (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 2000mg of Taurine, has been a favourite of Korean university students.^[4]

With the worldwide rise of energy drinks as fashionable mixers in alcoholic drinks like Vodka-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 with vodka into the cup, with the resulting mixture being consumed as rapidly as possible.^[5]^[6]

In popular culture

The Bacchus Lady is a South Korean film that was presented in the Panorama section of the 66th Berlin International Film Festival. The film depicts the life of an elderly Bacchus Lady, which is a Korean prostitute selling the Bacchus energy drink.

In the 2009 Korean film Mother, directed by Bong Joon-ho, the protagonist is given a bottle of insecticide by his mother in a Bacchus bottle as a child.