Aqua Libra is a proprietary name for a soft drink based on a mixture of mineral water and fruit juices with various herbal and other natural flavourings.
This drink is so named because it is supposed to maintain or restore the body’s alkaline balance.
Perhaps with allusion to Aquarius (i.e., the water-carrier), the Latin name of the eleventh sign of the zodiac, and to Libra, the Latin name of the seventh sign of the zodiac, Aqua Libra is composed of the Latin nouns aqua (i.e., water) and libra (i.e., a balance, a pair of scales)—cf. linguistic pondering over ‘Libra’ and ‘pound’.
The earliest occurrences of the name Aqua Libra that I have found are as follows, in chronological order:
1-: From the column Ad Lib Miscellany, by David Robbins, published in the Evening Herald (Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland) of Friday 19th December 1986 [page 28, column 1]:
Whether your hangover is the result of beer, spirits or wine—or worse, a mixture of all three—an effective cure, like those pick-me-ups Jeeves used to shimmer in with to Bertie Wooster, are a godsend.
For those without the stomach for the correct medicinal remedy—fruit for breakfast, followed by a brisk jog to get ride [sic] of all those toxins—Aqua Libra may be the answer.
It’s a rather pleasant-tasting sparkling drink which is supposed to restore the body’s correct alkaline balance. Cost: about £2 for 175 cls in your chemist.
2-: From Trade mark number UK00001272149, published in the Trade Marks Journal of Wednesday 18th February 1987:
Trade mark: AQUA LIBRA
Date of entry in register: 26 July 1986
Class 32: Non-alcoholic drinks, preparations for making such drinks
Owner(s) name: Britvic Soft Drinks Limited – Breakspear Park, Breakspear Way, Hemel Hempstead, HP2 4TZ, United Kingdom
3-: From an article about Natural Choice, an independent health-food shop that had just opened in Ashbourne, published in the Ashbourne News Telegraph (Ashbourne, Derbyshire, England) of Thursday 9th July 1987 [page 8, column 5]:
At the official opening last Saturday there was a free tasting of vegetarian foods, Norfolk Punch and Aqua Libra—a new mixed mineral water with fruit and vegetable juices.
4-: From a review of the 33rd annual International Fancy Food and Confection Show, held in New York City—review by Marilynn Marter, Inquirer food writer, published in The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA) of Wednesday 22nd July 1987 [page 6-F, column 1]:
Fewer foods were promoted specifically for health or diet. Of those that were, a sugar-free Swiss “chocolate” called Mirage proved a satisfying substitute for diabetics. A faintly fruit-flavored and ginseng-infused Swiss [?] drink called Aqua Libra was designed to maintain the body’s alkaline balance.
5-: From Bitter truth of those natural fizz drinks, published in the South Wales Echo (Cardiff, Glamorgan, Wales) of Monday 3rd August 1987 [page 8, column 2]:
For the real health freak, there’s always Aqua Libra, an alkaline drink containing fruit juice and vegetable aromatic extracts among others. It’s expensive at 65p but well worth trying.
6-: From Turn your man into a hunk! But first find out just how bad he is, published in the Evening Herald (Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland) of Saturday 29th August 1987 [page 8, column 1]:
HAS he discovered Aqua Libra, the latest Yuppie tonic that stabilises the pH acid/alkaline balance in the body?
7-: From The Food File, a column edited by Lynne Dixon, published in the Evening Post (Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England) of Wednesday 9th September 1987 [page 8, column 6]:
Drink with sparkle
IMAGINE a blend of sparkling spring water, natural fruit juices, Siberian ginseng, infusions of sunflower and sesame seeds and fruit and vegetable aromatic extracts.
There is such an exotic product. It’s Aqua Libra, a new health drink formulated to restore the body’s alkaline balance, which is often under stress because of our diet and lifestyle these days.
It’s slightly sparkling, tastes good, is low in calories and has no preservatives or artificial additives. Around 65p for the 20cl size and £1.59 for 75cl from health shops.
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