Tonic Water

[Tim D]

I've noticed that the vast majority of Tonic waters on the market include High Fructose Corn Syrup, which it seems to me, is an uneccessary addition. I've tried a few sparkling waters in my gin and tonics and they seem to be a descent substitute. But, I was wondering if anyone had a recommedation for a good replacement for the HFCS ladden tonics on the market today.

Thanks

[jackal10]

Schweppes tonic (and I guess others) vary from country to country,

The US version is sweeter than the original UK one. Makes it virtually impossible to get a decent gin and tonic in the US.

Also reject any not containing quinine, or called "slimline" containing artificial sweeteners

[Tim D]

I've tried a few 'mineral waters' (I've forgotten the names at the moment) and had moderate success, but it would be great to have a true Quinine Tonic Gin and tonic. I agree, the G&T in the US are like drinking gin flavored soda. Way too sweet.

[HKDave]

Britvic India Tonic is the best I've found. Nice flavour, contains quinine, not too sweet, no HFCS. Made in UK, available in Europe and here in Hong Kong, but not sure if you can get it in the USA. It comes in one-drink size cans, rather than cola-size cans - perfect for mixing. Makes a bigger difference in the taste of a G+T than the choice of gin.

http://www.britvic.com/britvic/home

- Hong Kong Dave

[Mayhaw Man]

One thing that I like about drinking in Ireland and the UK is the one drink bottles and cans. A major improvement over the omni present soda guns in the US.

Schweppes tonic in Europe (UK and Ireland) is a much better product than in North America. The stuff over here is way too sweet.

[markovitch]

i hate them freakin' guns

[Tim D]

Britvic India Tonic is the best I've found. Nice flavour, contains quinine, not too sweet, no HFCS. Made in UK, available in Europe and here in Hong Kong, but not sure if you can get it in the USA. It comes in one-drink size cans, rather than cola-size cans - perfect for mixing. Makes a bigger difference in the taste of a G+T than the choice of gin.

http://www.britvic.com/britvic/home

- Hong Kong Dave

Thanks for the recomendation, I'll just have to see if it's available in the states.

[tsquare]

I can't remember the brand, but Trader Joe's carries tonic that is much less sweet, and well priced. Seasonal, but saw it a couple of weeks ago.

[Susan in FL]

From what's available in our area, I prefer Schweppes, and I like the little bottles in a six-pack... perfect for a couple of vodka and tonics without being concerned over the rest of the bottle going flat.

When I do buy larger bottles, I freeze what's left in ice cube trays, and use them to ice the drinks.

[robyn]

I usually drink Diet Schweppes. It's not too sweet. But it does taste like "diet" soda.

Also - due to an unfortunate urinary tract infection - I made a fortunate discovery. Ocean Spray light cranberry juice (am drinking a lot of that for the UTI), gin and a bit of lime juice makes a nice cocktail. Robyn

[Mayhaw Man]

i hate them freakin' guns

In the colorful vernacular of today's youth-

Word!

[phaelon56]

I often drink tonic with a small splash of Rose's Lime Juice as an apertif or happy hour drink when I'm out getting wild.

Here's the curiouser and curiouser part.... in Belize, where I typically had it with fresh lime juice (Rose's was generally unavailable but excellent fresh lime juice was abundant).... the tonic was sometimes a pale pink color! The bartender advise that it happens from exposure to light. Any idea what is or was going on here? It tasted fine - less sweet and used real sugar instead of HFCS.

[Libationgoddess]

I absolutely love those 1-drink splits they use in the UK; they just

make complete sense! I wish we were that efficient here!

...and yeah, their tonic is definitely drier. Smart.

Audrey

[tsquare]

I can't remember the brand, but Trader Joe's carries tonic that is much less sweet, and well priced. Seasonal, but saw it a couple of weeks ago.

This stuff is called "Brightwater" and it is from New Zealand. Not exactly drinking locally, when you buy this in Seattle! Worth looking for.

[Mjx]

Yesterday evening I picked up a couple bottles of 1724 tonic water. My reasons were, my boyfriend has some extremely nice gin on hand (Botanist), I was in a spending mood, and frankly, the bottles are bloody cute.

 

We made a couple of gins and tonic, exclaiming a bit over the fact that one bottle of 1724 makes only a single, very modest-sized drink ('cute' seldom goes hand in hand with 'gargantuan'), and began drinking.

 

These were THE best G&T I've had in my life.

 

Despite the fact that my boyfriend's pours of gin tend to be generous, and the amount of tonic meant that the gin was less diluted than usual, these were the smoothest and most complex G&T I've ever had; I've had them with Schweppes tonic water most often, occasionally some cheapo supermarket brand, and Fever Tree. I have a sense that I should [at least try to] be embarrassed to admit that I've found the difference among the the G&T made with these three different tonic waters to be barely discernible (unfortunately, I'm more or less shamelss when it comes to my booze-lack-of-awareness), so I was excited to find that yesterday's drink was remarkable, and elevated the G&T to a whole new level.

 

The only problem is the cost.

 

So, I'm wondering whether there are any other brands of tonic water that are this good.

 

Suggestions?

[FrogPrincesse]

Make your own?

[cdh]

Make your own?

 

If you're in a concocting mood, Jeffrey Morgenthaler, the author of that recipe, has refined it over time.  Here's the latest iteration I'm aware of.

[FrogPrincesse]

If you're in a concocting mood, Jeffrey Morgenthaler, the author of that recipe, has refined it over time.  Here's the latest iteration I'm aware of.

Thanks - that's the one I was reading yesterday. It's also in his book.

[Paul Bacino]

Might try qtonic

[FauxPas]

I second Q Tonic - I love it's lighter taste and no high fructose corn syrup. 

 

From their website:

 

 

 

Q Tonic is dedicated to making the world’s best tonic water - a clean, crisp, completely ungeneric beverage that enhances the finest spirits or stands proudly on its own. We’ve used the best ingredients we could find. We went to the slopes of the Peruvian Andes for hand-picked quinine and to the Mexican countryside for organic agave, a sweetener better than honey with a gently rounded sweetness. We meticulously refined our recipe with both food scientists and mixologists. Then we worked with one of New York City’s best design shops to develop a bottle as beautiful as the liquid it holds. We think we’ve come up with a superior tonic water. One that’s good enough for the gin, vodka, or rum you’d choose to mix it with. And good enough to change the way you think about tonic water.

 

And the link to their site: 

 

http://qtonic.com/index.html

[Hassouni]

q tonic is good stuff

[liuzhou]

Q Tonic is excellent.

 

Unfortunately, all I can get here is Watson's Tonic Water - a Hong Kong brand. It uses real sugar but not too much. 

 

It isn't great, but it's OK and OK G&T is better than NO G&T.

[Mjx]

Make your own?

 

If you're in a concocting mood, Jeffrey Morgenthaler, the author of that recipe, has refined it over time.  Here's the latest iteration I'm aware of.

 

Thanks - that's the one I was reading yesterday. It's also in his book.

 

Thanks, it actually sounds interesting, and I was looking at the dedicated Making Tonic Water and Tonic/Quinine Syrup discussion, too (while I was searching for discussions of tonic water), but for a few more months I'm still going to be using someone else's kitchen, which complicates anything more elaborate than a fairly simple meal, in terms of space or time requrements, so making my own tonic water is somthing I'll have to hold off on, for a bit.

 

Might try qtonic

 

I second Q Tonic - I love it's lighter taste and no high fructose corn syrup. 

 

From their website:

 

 

And the link to their site: 

 

http://qtonic.com/index.html

 

q tonic is good stuff

 

Q Tonic is excellent.

 

Unfortunately, all I can get here is Watson's Tonic Water - a Hong Kong brand. It uses real sugar but not too much. 

 

It isn't great, but it's OK and OK G&T is better than NO G&T.

 

Well, that's some solid support for Q tonic, so I'm heading out to see whether it can be had in Denmark.

 

Thanks, all, for the suggestions!

[BillBuitenhuys]

We recently got a bottle of Bradley's Kina Tonic and have been loving it in our G&T's.

[GlorifiedRice]

GOOD! I was afraid to make a new post about Tonic Water being medicine so Im glad there is already a Tonic Water topic in existence.

 

With the TONKA bean discussion about them being harmful to certain people with clotting problems and Andie telling us that you shouldnt consume them if you are on blood thinners and aspirin, I wanted to pass along a tip to people who, like me, cannot take Aspirin, Ibuprofen, Alleve etc I cannot take those things. I will spontaneously hemorrhage...and with the research being done on Tylenol

being the trigger for autism I definitely dont want to take that either. So I researched alternative anti pyretics, anti inflammatories and pain relievers...

The one that works for me is TONIC WATER.

I buy the SODA STREAM Diet Tonic Water Syrup and take a spoonful and Voila! pain is all gone...

 

Just FYI YMMV