Tonic Water

Tonic water is a carbonated liquid into which quinine is added. It is not to be confused with club soda or sparkling water, which is simply h20 with carbon dioxide added to it in order to give it its fizziness.

Moreover, the addition of quinine gives this liquid a bitter and unique taste which a lot of people, including myself, enjoy.

Quinine, at its most basic form, is a white crystalline alkaloid known to have analgesic, antimalairal, and anti-inflammatory properties. Originally used as medicine, it has now, in extremely small quantities, found its way into t onic water for flavoring.

During the expansion of the British Empire, the British actually used to mix gin into their quinine drinks to mask the strong, bitter flavor of the drink, and thus was born one of today's most popular drinks - Gin and Tonic - not to mention different variations to it.

Though quinine is more often synthesized in the lab, it naturally occurs in the bark of cinchona trees, found in the tropical Andes forests in South America.

Thanks to its quinine properties, this carbonated form of liquid will turn bright fluorescent under ultra violet light, giving a cocktail a very cool appearance under certain lighting conditions.

It can also be used with lemon or lime to form bitter lemon and bitter lime, respectively.

As a professional bartender or even an amateur one, it's always a good idea to keep a stock of these around the bar.

Common brands are Schweppes, Fever-Tree Naturall Light, and Canada Dry. `

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