Everything about Tonic Water totally explained
Tonic water (or
Indian tonic water) is a
carbonated soft drink flavored with
quinine, which gives it a distinctively bitter taste.
The drink gains its name from the medicinal effects of this
bitter flavoring. The quinine was added to the drink as a
prophylactic against
malaria, since it was originally intended for consumption in tropical areas of
South Asia and
Africa where that disease is
endemic. The
mixed drink Gin and tonic originated in
British colonial India when the British population would mix their medicinal quinine tonic with
gin to make it more palatable.
Medicinal tonic water originally contained only
carbonated water and a large amount of quinine. However, most tonic water today contains a medically insignificant amount of quinine, and is thus used for its flavor only. It is consequently less bitter, and is also usually sweetened. Some manufacturers also produce diet tonic water. In the
United States, the
Food and Drug Administration limits the quinine content in tonic water to 83
ppm (83 mg per liter if calculated by mass), which is 0.25% to 0.50% of the concentration used in therapeutic tonic.
Tonic water is often used as a
drink mixer for
cocktails, especially those made with
gin (for example, a
gin and tonic). Tonic water with
lemon or
lime flavor added is known as
bitter lemon or
bitter lime, respectively. Such
soft drinks are more popular in
Europe than in the
United States.
Tonic water will fluoresce under
ultraviolet light, due to the presence of quinine. In fact, the sensitivity of quinine to ultraviolet light (UV) is such that it'll fluoresce in direct sunlight.
Sprinkling a pinch of
salt into a glass of tonic water will make the tonic water lose its bitterness, due to the bitterness-masking nature of salt.
Further Information
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