Tonic Water

Quinine's story begins with the Indigenous peoples of Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador, who used cinchona bark to treat malaria symptoms as early as the 17th century. Spanish colonizers adopted this knowledge and spread it through the New World. By the early 19th century, British soldiers in colonial India consumed quinine as a malaria prophylactic, mixing the extremely bitter extract with soda water and sugar to make it palatable. Fresh aromatics of citrus and lemongrass were added, creating what we now call Indian Tonic Water, prepared as a syrup for preservation. In 1858, Schweppes patented the first commercial Indian Tonic Water, combining their soda water with quinine and sweeteners. The famous gin and tonic pairing originated in this same colonial context, with soldiers given gin rations who combined it with their medicinal tonic. By 1868, the first known record appeared in the Oriental Sporting Magazine, describing it as a refreshing race-day cocktail rather than medicine.