B.G. Reynolds’ Red Fassionola

Proprietary contemporary interpretation of Fassionola (red) made with cane sugar, cherry concentrate, passion fruit concentrate, and mango juice concentrate. Passionola (red) was a proprietary tropical fruit syrup spinoff of the passion fruit syrup Passionola, which in turn became Passionola (gold)—see separate entry. A green variation was also created at the same time—see separate entry. This red-colored syrup was one of several that emerged in Southern California in the 1930s and 1940s, attempting to capture a composite flavor of tropical fruit (pineapple, guava, papaya and passionfruit). These syrups were marketed to the wholesale soda fountain industry, and soon thereafter, to bars as well. Of these, by far the most famous example was Hawaiian Punch, itself originally available only as a wholesale syrup. Marketing materials from the 1944 summarize the red syrup as “reminiscent of rich, red cherries”. It is pretty easy to see how some poor copywriter, grasping for some way to characterize the anodyne, nondescript “tropical punch” flavor, might reach for the taste of (fresh) cherries as something that would be relatable to Americans in the 1940s. A potential source of confusion is that both artificial cherry flavor and the flavor of (nuclear red) maraschino cherries are also relatable soda fountain staples. In the 1950s, the Passionola brand was renamed or replaced by Fassionola, likely with further manufacturing and quality changes, but the gold/red/green pattern continued. Fassionola-branded products have remained wholesale-oriented, with sporadic appearances in the retail market. Today, the word fassionola is in generic use and the word Passionola is under (novel) trademark. Products today using these names should be evaluated on their own terms, and any claims of historical accuracy should probably be taken with the proverbial grain of salt. Passionola (red) or fassionola (red) crop up in tropical mixed drinks here and there. The “Hawaiian Punch” flavor profile was culturally ubiquitous in the United States from the 1950s forward, and these syrups offered a shortcut to both a vague, unchallenging tropical character and attractive red coloration. The most famous usage example seems to be Pat O’Brien’s, in New Orleans, which may well have switched from a plain passion fruit syrup to the Fassionola (red) syrup for their Hurricane cocktail, circa 1956. At some point, their Hurricane cocktail did become red-colored, and at some point thereafter, Pat O’Brien’s was selling so many Hurricanes they began producing their own bespoke red tropical punch syrup. It’s also clear that Don the Beachcomber, Trader Vic, and their competitors were all well aware of the Passionola/fassionola product lines. Don the Beachcomber even employed Fassionola (red) in at least one of his drinks in the 1970s at his Waikiki restaurant.