Horlicks

Horlicks is a malted milk hot drink developed by founders James and William Horlick. It is now marketed and manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline (Consumer Healthcare) in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, and Jamaica.

In the initial stage of manufacturing, milled malted barley and wheat flour are mashed together in hot water where the starch is converted into sugars. To this sugar solution dairy powders are added. The water content is then evaporated to form a syrup that is dried in vacuum band driers to form a cake. This cake is milled into the finished powder.

Claims are often made by malted milk drinks such as Horlicks that they assist sleep, but these claims have been difficult to verify. According to GlaxoSmithKline: "While ... research indicates that Horlicks drinks can help you to sleep better, the exact way in which Horlicks works is not clear."

Malted drinks may help to stave off hunger overnight, which can lead to sounder sleep.

"Horlicks" is usually taken to be a substitute for the profanity "bollocks". This use was exploited by the company in a 1990s advertising campaign, in which a harassed housewife exclaims "Horlicks" in a context where a stronger term could have been expected, thus widening the term's exposure and usage for a while.

This substitution in the form of a singular noun is also used to refer to a minor disaster or shambles, as in "to make a complete Horlicks of something". For example, the term was used in July 2003 by British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw ("a complete Horlicks") to describe irregularities in the preparation and provenance of a dossier regarding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

In 1961, Horlicks ran a television advertising campaign that featured Scottish entertainer Billy Raymond and an actress. The theme of the advert was "Horlicks – the food drink of the night."

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