Double Prince Peppermint Water — known in Chinese as 双飞人药水 (shuāng fēi rén yào shuǐ), in French as Alcool de Menthe de Ricqlès, and listed in the Hong Kong Drug Office register simply as ALCOHOL DE MENTHE DE RICQLES — is one of the most unusual entries in the overseas Chinese medicine cabinet. Unlike Tiger Balm, Wong To Yick, or White Flower Embrocation, it did not originate in China or Southeast Asia. It was invented in Lyon, France, in 1838 by a silk trader named Heyman de Ricqlès, spent its first century as a French army and household remedy, and only arrived in Hong Kong in the mid-twentieth century — where it was renamed by Cantonese consumers after the two winged figures on its label.
This guide traces the full 188-year arc: the Lyon invention, the French army period, the Hong Kong naming, the ingredients, the traditional uses, the modern China trademark split, and — critically — the safety profile of a product that is one of the very few medicated oils with a legitimate oral use tradition alongside topical application.
Heyman de Ricqlès was a young silk trader based in Lyon, France, with a personal passion for botany. His particular interest was peppermint (Mentha piperita), which grew in the Provence countryside not far from his home. Working with the classical technique of steam distillation, Ricqlès succeeded in isolating the essential oil of peppermint at high quality, then combined it with heated ethanol in a proprietary process that preserved the volatile aromatic compounds. The original formula, according to Laboratoires Ricqlès, has remained “secret and unchanged for over 180 years.”1
The product was immediately recognised as both a pleasant aromatic spirit and a credible household remedy for digestive complaints, fainting, insect bites, and travel sickness. In 1840, King Louis-Philippe I awarded Heyman de Ricqlès a Medal of Honour after he distributed large quantities of the extract to victims of regional floods.1 In 1849, Ricqlès registered a patent for the manufacturing process. He died on 14 December 1853, and his three sons took over the business.
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1838 | Heyman de Ricqlès invents peppermint extract in Lyon |
| 1840 | Medal of Honour awarded by Louis-Philippe I |
| 1849 | Patent registered |
| 1853 | Ricqlès dies; three sons inherit the business |
| 1857 | “Ricqlès peppermint extract” trademark registered |
| 1869 | De Ricqlès et Cie company established |
| 1898 | Production moves to Saint-Ouen, near Paris |
| 1914–1918 | French army issues Ricqlès to soldiers in field kits |
| 1945 | Line diversifies into breath mints |
| 1987 | Haribo France acquires the Ricqlès trademark |
| 1996 | Ricqlès museum opens in Uzès, Provence |
Modern production is based in Uzès, Provence, under Laboratoires Ricqlès, a division of Haribo France since 1987. The brand is today sold both as a household remedy in French pharmacies and as a niche product in overseas Chinese markets under the “Double Prince” identity.1
Ricqlès Peppermint Water reached Hong Kong in the post-war years, likely in the 1950s and 1960s, through French trading houses and missionary networks active in the Pearl River Delta. The bottle — a dark blue glass flacon with a narrow neck, priced affordably, and marked by a striking label showing two winged figures (classically, French guardian angels) holding up the bottle — was an immediate visual novelty in Cantonese drug stores.
Hong Kong consumers did not read French and did not recognise the “alcool de menthe” branding. What they did recognise was the picture. The two winged figures on the label were informally renamed 双飞人 — “two flying people” — and the prefix 法国 (“French”) was added to distinguish it from Chinese medicated oils. The full Cantonese name 法国双飞人药水 (“French Double Prince medicated water”) emerged organically from shop-floor usage, and by the 1970s it was the dominant household name for the product in Hong Kong and Macau. The English transliteration “Double Prince” used on some export packaging is a direct translation of 双飞人 (“prince” being a generous rendering of 人/”person” to match the regal imagery of the winged figures).
By the 1980s, with China’s opening up, returning Hong Kong relatives carried bottles of Double Prince back into Guangdong Province as affordable, practical gifts. It spread from the Pearl River Delta north through the rest of China, where it joined the pantheon of summer household remedies alongside Tiger Balm and Wong To Yick — despite the fact that unlike those two, it was and is a European product.
The Hong Kong Department of Health’s Drug Office lists Ricqlès under registration number HK-03206, originally registered on 16 January 1979, under the product name ALCOHOL DE MENTHE DE RICQLES. The certificate holder is The International Medical Company Limited, headquartered in Yau Tong, Kowloon. The product is classified as “Not A Poison” and sold as an over-the-counter medicine. The active ingredients listed are alcohol and peppermint oil.2
This registration establishes that Double Prince / Ricqlès has been a formally registered pharmaceutical product in Hong Kong for nearly five decades. Unlike many traditional medicated oils that circulated informally, this product has been under direct pharmacovigilance by HK authorities since 1979.
One complication unique to Double Prince is that the Chinese 双飞人 trademark is not, in fact, owned by Laboratoires Ricqlès. From the late 1990s, Chinese domestic companies registered 双飞人 as a trademark in mainland China before the original French brand could do so. The dominant domestic trademark holder is a Jiangxi-based manufacturer, and products sold in mainland Chinese supermarkets and pharmacies under the 双飞人 name may be locally formulated versions made by Chinese companies that are legally unrelated to Laboratoires Ricqlès.
To sell the genuine French formulation in mainland China, Ricqlès registered an alternative brand name: 利佳薄荷水 (Li Jia Peppermint Water). Consumers who want the authentic Ricqlès / Double Prince formulation in mainland China should look for:
In Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia, the trademark situation is different and bottles labelled 法国双飞人药水 are generally the genuine French product imported by The International Medical Company Limited. This is the origin of the common phrase “买双飞人认准法国” — “when buying Double Prince, check that it says France.”
Ricqlès Alcool de Menthe — and, by extension, the genuine French Double Prince — has a famously simple formulation:
This is fundamentally different from all the other medicated oils in the overseas Chinese cabinet. Tiger Balm, Wong To Yick, and White Flower Embrocation are oil-based formulations with methyl salicylate, camphor, and menthol carried in paraffin or a similar oily vehicle. Ricqlès / Double Prince is an alcohol-based solution with peppermint oil and no camphor, no methyl salicylate, no paraffin. The product is clear, watery, alcoholic, and evaporates almost completely from the skin within seconds.
The alcohol content is high enough that Double Prince is technically a flammable liquid and bottles carry appropriate warnings. It is also high enough that the product can be taken orally in small doses — a usage pattern that does not apply to any of the other medicated oils on this site and which creates a specific and important safety profile.
Double Prince / Ricqlès is traditionally used for four broad clusters of complaints:
1. Digestive and nausea complaints (internal use) — A few drops on a sugar cube, or diluted in a glass of water, is the classical French and Cantonese remedy for indigestion, nausea, bloating, travel sickness, and general stomach upset. The peppermint oil provides the antispasmodic and carminative action; the ethanol acts as a carrier and mild stimulant. This is genuinely traditional in both European and Chinese contexts, and is unique among overseas Chinese medicated oils.
2. Insect bites and mosquito-itch relief (topical) — A drop rubbed on a mosquito bite provides a rapid cooling sensation and some antipruritic effect from the menthol in the peppermint oil. Cantonese households traditionally used Double Prince as a first-line summer remedy for mosquito bites on children over 6.
3. Dizziness, fainting, and summer heat stroke (aromatic / topical) — Traditionally applied to the temples, under the nose, or on a handkerchief and inhaled. The aromatic peppermint vapour is stimulating and said to “revive” the patient. This use is shared with White Flower Embrocation and peppermint smelling salts.
4. Minor aromatic freshening and cooling — As a room spray in hot weather, as a mouth rinse (heavily diluted), or as a cooling rub on the back of the neck in summer.
None of these uses are proprietary; they are standard traditional peppermint-oil-in-alcohol indications documented in European and Chinese popular medicine. Contemporary evidence for topical peppermint oil on mild mosquito bites is weak but not implausible; evidence for oral peppermint oil in small doses for functional indigestion is moderate and is supported by pharmacopoeial monographs on enteric-coated peppermint oil for IBS.
| Product | Base | Key active | Camphor? | Oral tradition? | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Double Prince / Ricqlès | ~80% ethanol + water | Peppermint oil | No | Yes — a few drops orally | France, 1838 |
| Tiger Balm Red | Petrolatum/paraffin | Camphor 25% | Yes | No — topical only | Rangoon/Singapore, 1870s |
| Wong To Yick | Oil base | Methyl salicylate 40% | Yes, ~15% | No — topical only | Hong Kong, 1950s |
| Po Sum On | Oil base | Menthol + camphor | Yes | No — topical only | Hong Kong, 1907 |
| White Flower | Oil base | Menthol/MS/camphor trio | Yes, ~15% | No — topical only | Penang/HK, 1927 |
Double Prince sits apart from every other medicated oil in this guide on three counts: it is alcohol-based rather than oil-based, it contains no camphor and no methyl salicylate, and it has a legitimate internal-use tradition. These three facts drive the whole safety profile — the risks and the contraindications are different from every other product on this site.
Because the formulation is so different, the safety warnings for Double Prince are also different. Readers should not assume that the contraindications for Tiger Balm or Wong To Yick are transferable.
The alcohol content alone (~80% v/v) is sufficient reason to keep Double Prince well away from children under 6, whether for topical or oral use. Ethanol is efficiently absorbed through the thin skin of infants and young children, and paediatric ethanol poisoning has been documented from topical use of high-alcohol products. In addition, the peppermint oil itself carries the general menthol infant-apnoea risk seen with all mentholated products (see our companion article on menthol pharmacology) — application near the nose, mouth, or chest of infants can trigger laryngospasm and, in rare cases, respiratory arrest. Do not use on children under 2 under any circumstances, and avoid oral use in children under 6.
Pregnant and breastfeeding women should not take Double Prince orally. The ethanol content is incompatible with pregnancy (no safe threshold for prenatal alcohol exposure is established), and concentrated peppermint oil taken internally has a theoretical uterine-relaxant effect whose significance in late pregnancy is debated. Topical use in small amounts on mosquito bites or the temples is generally considered acceptable, but consult a physician before routine use. See our pregnancy guide for the broader framework.
Because the product is genuinely 80% v/v ethanol, oral use is incompatible with:
Double Prince is a flammable liquid. Keep away from open flames, cooking surfaces, and smoking. Do not apply and immediately cook on a gas stove. Store the bottle tightly capped, away from heat and direct sunlight.
Peppermint oil in itself is not on the classical G6PD trigger list, but patients with G6PD deficiency should exercise the general caution appropriate to all essential-oil-based medicated preparations and avoid oral use without physician guidance. See our G6PD deficiency guide for the full contraindication framework.
Do not apply to broken skin, open wounds, mucous membranes, or near the eyes. The high alcohol content will sting severely and can delay wound healing.
For adults with no contraindications:
Start with the smallest effective dose. If symptoms persist beyond 2-3 days, or worsen, stop using the product and consult a physician.
The genuine French Ricqlès / Double Prince product should have:
Counterfeit products typically omit the French-language label, use lower-grade peppermint oil with a harsher smell, and may have lower alcohol content that evaporates more slowly on the skin. The genuine French product has a very clean, single-note peppermint aroma and evaporates almost completely within seconds.
Q: Is Double Prince the same as Ricqlès? A: Yes — “Double Prince” (双飞人) is the Cantonese name given to Ricqlès Alcool de Menthe after it arrived in Hong Kong in the mid-20th century. The bottle, the formula, and the manufacturer are all the same. The name refers to the two winged figures on the label.
Q: Can I drink it? A: In very small doses (3-10 drops in water, a few times a day maximum), yes — this is the classical traditional indication for indigestion, nausea, and travel sickness, supported by 180 years of European and Chinese household use. Do not exceed small dose ranges, do not use it as a recreational beverage, and do not give it to children or pregnant women.
Q: How is it different from White Flower Embrocation? A: White Flower is an oil-based product with menthol, methyl salicylate, camphor, and eucalyptus designed for topical use only. Double Prince is an alcohol-based peppermint solution with no camphor, no methyl salicylate, and a traditional oral-use indication. They overlap on dizziness and insect bites but are fundamentally different formulations with different safety profiles.
Q: Why does the mainland Chinese version taste different? A: Because the mainland-registered 双飞人 trademark is held by Chinese domestic manufacturers, not by Laboratoires Ricqlès. The genuine French formulation is sold in mainland China under the name 利佳薄荷水 (Li Jia Peppermint Water). Look for “法国” (France) and the Ricqlès name on the packaging.
Q: Is it halal? A: No. The product is approximately 80% ethanol by volume. Muslim consumers who avoid all ethanol-containing products should not use Double Prince.
Q: Can I use it as mouthwash? A: Only heavily diluted — a few drops in a glass of water. Undiluted Double Prince is far too alcoholic and mentholated for direct oral mucosal contact.
This site is independently written and operated by the the editorial team team.
Last updated: 2026-04-14 · Maintained by the editorial team AI editorial team · Please cite yaoyoudaquan.cn when referencing this article.
Laboratoires Ricqlès. “Ricqlès Story” — official brand history. https://www.laboratoiresricqles.com/en/ricqles-story/ (accessed April 2026). Establishes: 1838 founding in Lyon, Heyman de Ricqlès as founder, 1840 Louis-Philippe medal, 1849 patent, 1853 death, 1857 trademark, 1914 French army issue, 1987 Haribo acquisition, current production in Uzès. ↩ ↩2 ↩3
Hong Kong Department of Health Drug Office. Registered pharmaceutical product entry for “ALCOHOL DE MENTHE DE RICQLES,” registration number HK-03206, certificate holder The International Medical Company Limited, original registration 16 January 1979. https://www.drugoffice.gov.hk/eps/drug/productDetail/en/pharmaceutical_trade/62234 (accessed April 2026). ↩