Sure, stuff like Radithor came later but you didn’t need to discover radiation to think that someone might add uranium or radium, which still existed in some form, to a drink because they thought it improved its flavor. Maybe it leached out of the bottle glass, put there to add color. They used whatever they found to make stuff and had no idea about the toxicity—going back to the Romans who put lead acetate into wine and food to sweeten them.
[...] or radium, which still existed in some form [...]
In nature, radium is found in uranium ores in quantities as small as a seventh of a gram per ton of uraninite [...]It is extremely difficult to extract Radium from any naturally occurring ores. Naturally occurring Radium, itself, presents a miniscule risk to human health.-Wikipedia
(The radioactive gas Radon, however, which is a decay product of Radium and which can accumulate, over time, in closed rooms surrounded by Uranium-bearing rocks and soil, is another matter - though the rocks have to be sufficiently cracked and porose to allow the gas to escape.)
It's a complex topic - but one shouldn't overdramatize the risk posed by naturally-occurring radionuclides in normal settings.
Of course, man-made sources (mine tailings, sulfate scale from oil wells, improperly disposed-of technical products, etc.) are another matter - but 150 years ago, hardly any such problems would have been present.
Frankly, I'd be more concerned about mundane (chemical) poisoning effects!
Regards,