The Tippling Point | When gin got a bad rep, tonic water became the best medicine

Quinine is a powder extracted from the tree bark of Andean fever tree. Its use as a prophylactic against malaria was once commonplace in tropical places. Legend has it that Jesuit priests treated the Countess of Cinchona in the 17th century by administering a cocktail of queer plants and the bark of Andean tree. The cure was named after the countess - Cinchona (you have to grow a taste for quinine, for the alkaline extract is extremely bitter).

To step up the fight against his fevers, King Louis XIV of France also used the tree bark. Impressed, he saw to it that his people also got the benefit of the magic drug. England was at first doubtful about the cure but in the 17th century its people too began using quinine. It was Erasmus Bond, of Pitt & Co. who brought out the first commercial tonic water (JJ Schweppe had already launched the first carbonated water. No brownie points for guessing the name of the drink).

In the beginning, rather than touting the drink as a magical cure for malaria, tonic water was marketed in horse races as a refreshing drink. Gin which was reeling under bad reputation during the 18th century desperately needed a savior. Tonic water answered its prayer.

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When the British came to India during the 17th and the 18th century, malaria posed a huge challenge for the soldiers and other officials. They were horrified to see places swarming with mosquitoes that carried the deadly germs.

To fight them, in 1825, they fell back on the cure they had already assimilated into their life - quinine. But how can one stand the bitterness of the tree bark! The British began to blend gin with quinine, water and sugar, the last one to cut the acrid taste of tree bark. They liked the new taste. Gin and tonic was born. As it was expensive to import the powder from Europe, the authorities decided to plant fever tree in India.

But that doesn't mean all tonic water today contains quinine that harks back to the Andean fever tree. We have synthetic versions like hydroxychloroquine (which gained enough notoriety when Donald Trump piped it as a magic cure for coronavirus).

Nowadays tonic water is enhanced with flavours that range across the citric spectrum - from lemon to orange, flowers and fruits.

What are some of the major brands of tonic water you must look out for?

1. 1724

It has origins high in the Andes where quinine bark was first discovered. The masculine woody tone of 1724 goes in perfect synchrony with robust, high-strength gins.

2. Fentimans

This is world's first botanically brewed Indian tonic water. You get herbal infusions, Sicilian lemon oil and lemongrass extract from the bargain. Imagine what magic they are going to do in a shot of gin! The sweet effervescence and the crisp finish makes it one of the happiest pair with the juniper drink.

3. Fever-tree

If you hate the plastic sweetness that coys with your senses, and - as a tough person - want life in all its bitterness, Fever-tree is your answer. You get your quinine almost straight, and that gives your gin authenticity.

Uncompromising, you say, after the first sip.