Becher and the easily bored Dr Frobig soon became close friends united by a common passion: inventing blends of herbs, aromatic oils, and alcohol. Taking his leave of Karlovy Vary a while later, Dr Frobig gave his companion a piece of paper. 'This preoccupied me somewhat,' said the Englishman with the cool composure his fellow countrymen are famous for, before disappearing from Josef Becher's sight for all eternity.
There was an inkling of something truly inspired in Frobrig's blend of herbs and alcohol, and over the next two years Josef Becher went on to spend all his spare moments experimenting with the secret recipe. Then, in 1807, Josef Becher started selling cordial drops at his pharmacy according to his own recipe. Initially, his liqueur bore the names Carlsbad English Bitter, Carlsbad Bitter, English Bitter, and even the German name Original Karlsbader Becherbitter. In short, Karlovy Vary Becherovka had seen the light of the world.