Hot Trend, Cool Drinks: Artisanal Tonic Water Fancy Food Show Summer 2010

Here's a mini-trend I noticed while walking around at the Fancy Food show this past weekend: Tonic water! Yes, that combination of sweet, bitter, and fizzy, so beloved in our summer gin and tonics, has drawn the attention of some small-batch soda makers. Apparently there is a lot of room for improvement in tonic water. I tried three different varieties, and all were significantly better than the big brands I usually drink. One of them is even from Brooklyn!

Jordan and Paul of Brooklyn-based Q Tonic.

Q Tonic, which is based in in Brooklyn, was light and crisp, and really delicious even when drunk straight. It has 60% fewer calories than the usual high-fructose sweetened stuff, since it is sweetened just with a "touch of agave."

• Read more: Q Tonic website

The other two companies who are making tonic water that I met at the show were Fentiman's and Fever Tree. Fentiman's is a company primarily based in England. The Fentiman's at the show, though, was an American branch licensed to sell Fentiman's wonderful traditional sodas (ginger beer, shandy, Victorian lemonade, dandelion and burdock soda). I am a big fan of Fentiman's, even though I usually don't drink soda at all. Their "botanical" sodas are delightful. Their tonic water was crisp, but not as light as Q Tonic's. It was extra-fizzy, and very bright, with lemongrass and juniper.

• Read more: Fentiman's website

Last but not least, Fever Tree, another English brand, is also in the boutique tonic water area. Their tonic water tasted most heavily of citrus, to me, and it also was well-carbonated. It had a lingering bitter aftertaste (I liked this) and it also was light years beyond the usual tonic water brands.

• Read more: Fever Tree website

Have you tried any of these boutique tonic water brands? What did you think?

(Images: Faith Durand)

Comments (7)

I LOVE Q tonic! I tend to find tonic overly sweet, so this one is quite refreshing. It's really expensive though, $6-7 per litre. So, I only use it for special occasions.

Occasionally I like to treat myself--it's not like I am boozing it up every day. The Fever Tree ginger ale is excellent.

I tried a really fancy tonic, but since gin and tonics are my husband's favorite summer drink, we decided to start making our own tonic water. The fancy ones are awesome, especially since they don't have HFCS, but they add up quickly and can end up costing as much as the gin.

We found the recipe for homemade tonic here: http://www.jeffreymorgenthaler.com/2008/how-to-make-your-own-tonic-water/.

Love Q tonic, especially paired with the softer gins like G'Vine! I also like to drink it plain over ice, with a drop or two of bitters

ktbski, great link! But I don't think I can really go in for making homemade tonic and sourcing cinchona bark. Not until I retire, anyway.

I wish mainstream manufacturers would just get with the program and go back to sugar.

I do not drink soda otherwise, but I LOVE gin & tonic, and my only choice in my immediate area is a regular old grocery store with regular old tonic.

I love drinking Q tonic straight but I really don't care for it mixed with alcohol.