Key Takeaways
• All three bartenders unanimously agree that Fever -Tree is the top choice of tonic water due to its balanced sweetness and bitterness.
• The fine, permanent carbon dioxide in the tonic contributes a sharp, uplifting mouthfeel through every sip.
• Fever -Tree is not only characterized in gin & tonics, but also in espresso tonics and increased mocktails.
As a new 21-year-old, one of my first adult explanations was to choose a standard cocktail order. I didn’t want to be the one who stammered at the bar that stammered my drink.
I quickly picked up what the classic gin and tonic laid down. I loved Gin’s vegetable flavors, and the tonic water introduced just enough bitterness to keep things interesting, together with a hint of sweetness to compensate for everything. It also felt like a demanding choice, a crystal clear glass in a served college bar of blue drinks and flaming shots.
Since then I have made my own gin and tonic at home and experimented with various gins and garnish. However, I never really branched out when it came to the tonic water. Now that there are so many tonic Waters available on the shelves, I wanted to look at the options better and receive opinions from the people behind the bar.
It turns out that you have the same opinion and your tonic water of your choice in every grocery store is easy to reach.
The bartender I asked
Simply recipes / fever tree
The best tonic water according to bartender
Many thanks to the not too sweet taste profile and specially bubbling bubbles, Fiever tree -tonic water Has won the hearts of the bartender that I interviewed.
“Fever Tree has a perfect balance between sweet and bitter, in which other tonic can sail,” says Conway. With a less sweet tonic water, you give you more options if you mix a drink. “If I have less sugar in a tonic water, I can personalize a gin and a tonic with a dash of liqueur or special syrup without the overall drink becoming Saccharin and losing its refreshing cing,” adds Chamberlain.
Van Nostrand “(looks) for the trifecta balance of bitterness, sweetness and astringence in a tonic” to ensure that your cocktails are well balanced. She continues: “I like a tonic that tastes refreshingly and which also underlines the botanical or fruity notes of the mind with which I mix.”
Aroma is an important consideration for all three bartender. For a drink that is as simple as a gin and tonic, every component should be high quality and taste good alone. Conway loves the taste of the fever tree because “the bitterness of quinine gives taste and contrast to the sweetness, while a bump of citrus fruits of oranges stop the bitter grades.”
Bubbles were almost as important as the taste for the bartender I talked to. Conway loves that Fever Tree Tonic Water “has a large amount of carbon dioxide, so that the bubbles last in the drink for a while.” Van Nostrand agrees and says that the “fine, bubble bubbles add a fond, almost electrical mouthfeel to the tonic, which emphasizes all citrus fruits, juices or Schäper flavors”.
While all bartenders make their gin and tonic with fever tree -tonic water, they had other ideas for the spray mixer. Chamberlain uses Fever Tree in non -alcoholic beverages, “because the bitterness of the Chinin gives character and sophistication, which can help to make mocktails feel less like they only belong to the children’s table.”
Van Nostrand recommends using “… Fever Tree Tonic in an espresso tonic. I like mine with a sparkling mint for a herbelled pop.” Conway also uses Fever Tree for Espressomonians. “An espresso and a tonic with a lemon wheel ensures a great pick-me-up that balances espresso and sparkling wine,” she says.
