Cheracol was a cherry-flavored cough
syrup sold by The Upjohn Company, with trademarked
versions appearing as early as 1927. It is made using the
extract of cherry tree bark. In its history, Cheracol also
contained potent ingredients, like morphine, codeine,
chloroform, and alcohol. It was a very popular product for
Upjohn, selling very well right up to 1990. The Cheracol brand
is no longer sold.
Upjohn sold products containing the
extract from cherry bark starting in 1899. Back then the product
name was "Wild Cherry". It was formulated as a syrup, a fluid
extract and a wine. I've included photos below of a couple of
bottles of Wild Cherry in my collection. The liquid inside is
still in perfect condition.
Upjohn launched
"Cheracol D" around 1966, which replaced codeine with
dextromethorphan hydrobromide. This allowed for over-the-counter (OTC)
sales.
At the Portage manufacturing site in the 1950s and 60s,
railroad box cars full of cherry bark were still being unloaded
inside Building 41 and taken to the Percolating Section, where
fluid was extracted from the bark.