Maybe I should be afraid to ask, but recently I was shopping and found a decent deal. It was a case of drinks that was much cheaper than soda. Of course, in my money-saving efforts, I never considered it completely. I looked at the package: Ginger Ale, Club Soda, and Tonic Water. Well, 2/3 isn’t bad, thought I. Now that I’m running low on the Club Soda and Ginger Ale, I tried a can of Tonic Water.
Not the best drink alone, but I know it can be used to make something, right?
We’re rather fond of mixing tonic and fruit juice. The bitter tonic does a good job of cutting the sweetness of the juice, esp if you use something that usually is obnoxiously sweet on its own (ie. Concord grape or fruit punch).
Of course, it’s even better if you then add some vodka or gin.
Agreed. I used to hate both gin and tonic on their own, but when combined, something sublime happens. And, yeah, don’t forget the lime–it’s a key component.
My wife is fanatical about this. She started drinking tonic water on her doctor’s advice to ease leg cramps, and was messing about with ways to make it taste less like ass. Fruit juice is the key. She’ll put a couple of fingers of fruit juice in a glass, and the rest tonic water. It is very, very refreshing, she says. She goes through that stuff by the 2-liter bottle.
I’m not talking a lot of lime here, I just mean a sliver for its essential oils. It’s a nice grace note that takes the G&T over the top for me–like that dash of bitters in your whiskey Old Fashioned. Just a dab’ll do ya.
I like tonic with a splash of bitters and a squeeze of lime. Also tonic with a splash of sour mix gets pretty close to Bitter Lemon, my favorite soft drink ever but very hard to get in the US.
