I stumbled across a few internet folk extolling the virtues of Q Tonic. The theory being that you buy decent gin, why mix it with crappy tonic water?

Well, I resolved to compare tonic waters as well as gins in the quest for the world’s finest G&T.

Fever-Tree tonic water

I was stocking up on tonic water today when I noticed Fever-Tree Indian Tonic Water on the shelf. At £2.99 for four little bottles of tonic (4x200ml), compared to £2.75 for 3 litres of Schweppes, I was appalled at the price. However, I had a duty to try it – how else would I find the best tonic?

I tried it alone and with Blackwood’s gin. Here’s what I thought…

On its own it was a massive surprise. It is much less sweet than Schweppes and fizzier. It is pretty lemony and has a softer quinine hit. I would go as far as saying that its flavour is so subtle that you can taste the carbonated water as a strong component of the taste. I was not really sure whether it was to my tastes.

With gin it was a slightly different prospect. It makes a very clean and dry G&T that doesn’t really need a slice of lemon or lime. With the subtle flavours of the Blackwood’s it was a little wishy-washy for my liking, but it might fare better with a more dominant gin.

I was really taken aback by how different it was to the Schweppes. It made the Schweppes taste almost cloyingly heavy and somewhat artificial. I remain unconvinced, but I have three bottles left.

Update: See my follow-up post to see how Fever-Tree became my default tonic for a G&T.