Horlicks is a malted milk drink developed by James and William Horlick in 1873 in Chicago and was patented in 1883. Marketed as Diastoid, it was meant for infants and invalids. The nutritive drink comprised of barley malt, ground wheat or oats and milk that could be mixed with hot water and drunk instantly.Soon it became a popular drink and with adventurers to the South and North Poles. Factories were established everywhere and especially in Asia where it remains a popular hot drink and not just for children. The company is now under GlaxoSmithKline.James Horlick went back to England and set up his factory in Slough in 1906. This tin which bears the address of the Horlick Factory in Slough, UK also carries the label, “By appointment, purveyors of the Malted Milk to King George V”. The drink began to be used extensively in WWI. James was made a baronet in 1914. The term “Horlicks” in recent British parlance also appears to be used as an expletive meaning something of a mess.
