Tequila Tonic Recipe and History
October 19, 2019
The hottest new cocktail that's simple and delicious: the Tequila Tonic
Most people are familiar with a gin & tonic, but the Tequila and tonic is now a hot low calorie, low sugar cocktail, rapidly growing in popularity.
The "G&T" as it is known in the UK actually has its origins in India. Soldiers in the British East India Company were prescribed quinine as a way to prevent malaria. Those soldiers added the quinine to tonic water as a way to take it, but it still had a very bitter taste. Since the soldiers also received a gin ration, it wasn't long before those soldiers were combining the quinine, tonic, some lime, and the gin to help the medicine go down.
Ivy Mix, an owner of Leyenda, a Brooklyn bar with a focus on Latin spirits, thinks this drink requires an earthy lowland Tequila (that is, grown in the valley section of Jalisco), such at the Partida Reposado, which is aged slightly and has toasty, nutty flavors. For its tonic match, she reaches for Canada Dry or Schweppes, which have “more quinine kick” in her opinion. We recommend our Tres Agaves Organic Reposado, aged for 8 months in Kentucky Bourbon barrels, and one of Wine Enthusiast's Top Spirits of the Year for 2018.
Fever Tree has a tonic made especially for Tequila. Fever Tree Citrus tonic officially started rolling out a few months ago in stores.
Try out this recipe and let us know what you think!
