The definition of what “Tonic” is has expanded* significantly in the last couple of years. I would place this expansion squarely within the trend of “making it yourself” and the healthy skepticism about about “what IS in our food?” What exactly IS in Tonic Water? Often times High Fructose Corn Syrup and very little that … Read more
Launched in 2007, Fentimans Tonic Water is a stalwart on the botanically flavored tonic water scene. It has an organic grain base, which is then flavored with lemongrass and quinine bark. It was known for the fact that it included its own botanicals. Fentimans Tonic Water rightly could be described as a tonic water you … Read more
As if the Tonic Water party hasn’t gone on long enough, I have yet another plastic bottle tonic to review. Polar is a sweeter, high fructose corn syrup tonic that occupies that middle ground as a safe tonic water stocked in most supermarkets. It’s not as low as you can go, and it’s not the … Read more
In 2010 I raved about 365 Tonic Water. “Less sweet,” and “less cloying” than other supermarket brands, I was enamored by 365’s use of real sugar. So much so that I’ve included it in several top lists over the years. It has been a long time since I’ve tried it, so in 2017 I’ve decided … Read more
Fever Tree’s Premium Indian Tonic Water— or more succinctly— Fever Tree Tonic is one of the first wave of “high quality tonic waters” that burst onto the G&T scene in the late 00’s and early 10’s. Now, well established, the Fever Tree brand has spawned a whole line of high quality mixers: a bitter lemon, … Read more
I walked into my next door bodega, and asked if if they had any tonic water. He said, “We have club soda, it’s the same thing.” I kindly told him that it’s not. He asked me, “What are you making?” “Gin and Tonic,” I said. “Yep, the same thing. Club soda and Tonic water are … Read more
In some— no many— sense Schweppes rightfully deserves the title of “the original tonic water.” Specifically in the sense that we know today. In 1871 when Schweppes launched Schweppes Tonic Water, it was the first of its kind. The first carbonated tonic water with quinine in it. Schweppes had been bottling mineral waters since the late … Read more
Q Tonic was designed in a kitchen in Brooklyn. Throughout the 2010s, it has gone from gin and tonic geek status to ubiquitous. Widely established as one of the top tonic waters on the market, Q Tonic was a pioneer of the less sweet/more bitter tonic water movement. At a mere 45 calories per 7.5 … Read more