Tonic Water and the Gin & Tonic

Tonic Water is one of those products which is both expected to be a standard at all bars, but also often overlooked and misunderstood.

Originally, tonic water got its start as an evolution of the use of quinine as a cure (or actually a symptom reducer) for malaria. It was the Peruvians who originally discovered the use of the bark from the cinchona tree for this purpose, and in the 1640’s it was “discovered” by European travelers who then quickly spread its usage. But it took almost another 200 years for quinine, the ingredient of the bark which helped reduce the symptoms of malaria to be identified and extracted. Part of this was due to the fact that the Peruvians closely guarded their product, and prohibited the export of seeds or seedlings of the cinchona tree.

With a pure version of quinine now available, it became both easier to use and distribute. However this also meant that the raw bitter flavor of quinine was far more intensified, and thus needed to be diluted in some manner to make it easier to take. It would often be dissolved in wine, teas, or other beverages, but the British colonials in India chose mixing it with gin as one of the more popular methods to take this medicine.

In the 1850’s, “Tonic Water” was first patented in England, and was a combination of carbonated water, sugar, and quinine. In the 1870’s, the Schweppes company brought their version of this product to the English market, but it wouldn’t be until the 1950’s that Schweppes would bring tonic water to the US. Which brings us to one of the first problems of “tonic water”. All tonic waters are not created equal. Despite the simple differences of one brand to another, there is also a significant difference between that which is available here in the US, and which is available virtually everywhere else in the world. The American FDA unfortunately dictates that there can only be 83mg of quinine per liter (83 parts per million) of product, which means that European companies have to reformulate their products for export to the US by decreasing the amount of quinine it contains, thus also reducing its bitterness. Some will argue that this makes for a better product, or at least one better adjusted to the “American palate”, but the fact still remains that it means we here in America won’t know what a European “Gin & Tonic” tastes like, without traveling to Europe.

One option is to make your own tonic water. While recipes aren’t necessarily easy to find, in the March/April edition of “Imbibe” magazine, Kevin Ludwig provides the recipe that he uses (4 cups water; 3 cups sugar; 3 Tbs. quinine; 6 Tbs. citric acid; 3 limes, juiced and zested; 3 stalks lemongrass, chopped), which is intended to use as a “tonic syrup”, which is then added to soda water when making a G&T.

Short of chartering a flight to England, or making your own tonic water, your next best option is to simply use a quality product (as should be obvious), when you choose to make yourself a Gin & Tonic. Both Schweppes and Canada Dry are perhaps the best known products, and are better then most of the other brands available. However recently there has been an increase in what could be considered “premium” brands of tonic water from companies like Fever-Tree, Q Tonic, and Stirrings. These brands usually try to create a better balance of flavors by decreasing the amount of sugar used, and either simplifying the overall ingredient profile, focusing on sourcing quality fresh ingredients.

And of course all of this then brings us to one of the few cocktails which actually use tonic water, the Gin & Tonic. Like tonic water itself, the Gin & Tonic is a drink that is also often overlooked. For myself, I treat the Gin & Tonic as my “safety drink”, the drink I order when I find myself in a bar where I seriously question the ability of the bartenders and the products they might use. In such a case, the Gin & Tonic seems like one of the safest drinks to order. However this means that it is usually made with both a bargain gin, and a bargain tonic water, which means I am subjecting myself to always having a sub-par Gin & Tonic. So I’ve recently made it a point to order a Gin & Tonic more often, especially when the weather is reaching the higher end of the spectrum.

Gin & Tonic
In an ice filled glass, pour in 1 1/2 to 2 ounces of gin, and top with tonic water.
Garnish with a small wedge of lime.

Instead of listing the recipe for a Gin & Tonic with some of the more absolute precision that I do with others, I intentionally chose to be a little vague, specifically with the amount of tonic water to use. The size of the glass used will be the critical feature here, its size will dictate if you end up using 2 ounces of tonic water or 8 ounces.

As shown in the picture above, I made two different G&T’s on this occasion, one using Schweppes, and the other using Fever-Tree brands of tonic water. Both were excellent, but the key difference flavor wise is that the Fever-Tree brand is less sweet, and more balanced than Schweppes. Depending on your own personal tastes, you may find that you prefer one or the other (or a G&T using one of the various other brands of tonic water), but I think the important thing is that you set aside some dedicated time this summer to do the necessary research to find out which one you like better. It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it.