G&T Forever
I delight in making cocktails and dip into my very aesthetically pleasing American Bar: The Artistry of Mixing Drinks
Sadly, I had to swear off my favorite summer cocktail when I realized that high fructose corn syrup—a ubiquitous ingredient in US tonic waters—was my nemesis. I have substituted Campari and sodas, Sazaracs and Mojitos, but the perfect summer evening does indeed call for a G&T (gin and tonic).
So I am thrilled to have just read June’s Gourmet magazine which reports on two new tonic waters available in the US which do NOT contain HFCS (!!): UK import Fever-Tree (sweetened with cane sugar) and US Q Tonic (sweetened with agave nectar).
I have to say that, in looking at both products' web sites, Q Tonic is more appealing, since they report that Q Tonic is made with
• Hand-picked quinine from the Peruvian Andes
• Organic agave as the sweetener
• 80% fewer calories than regular tonic water
• All natural ingredients
• No high fructose corn syrup
• 85% lower glycemic rating than other tonic waters
Designer, diet and politically correct! For food snobs everywhere!
Q Tonic also has the history of the G&T (and, indeed, tonic water) on its web site.
Now the hunt is on: where can I buy this stuff? Does anyone know?
6 comments:
I found the following on theartofthedrink(dot)com blog. Maybe you should send him an e-mail?
"I'm the founder of Q Tonic that Darcy mentioned. We're actually getting ready for our first major production run - bottles should be coming off the line in early May (just in time for G&T season).
DARCY, or for that matter anyone else who's reading this - if you email me your mailing address, I'll send a couple of bottles to you as soon as they're ready. I'd love to hear what you think of it. My email is jordan@qtonicwater.com."
Comment by: Jordan :: April 5, 2007 4:43 PM
Thanks very much, Jan! Emailing now!
Good to know! I had gestational diabetes when I was pregnant with my son so I am at a higher risk for getting Type 2 diabetes. Anything with low or no sugar is definitely a good thing for me! Thanks for sharing!
Hey--heard from Jordan at Q Tonic. They'll start selling this summer at select New York bars and restaurants--Gramercy Tavern, Milk & Honey, Little Branch, and Blue Hill at Stone Barns. So, New York readers, you'll have to try it and report what you think!
Here in the UK everyone is going wild about Fever-Tree. It is unquestionably the best tonic water on the market, revolutionising our national drink and appearing in the best restaurants and funkiest bars. In fact it is so good that the very celebrated chef Ferran Adria has even incorporated it into a dish at his restaurant El Bulli (voted best restaurant in the world, 2006 and 2007). It isn’t just the tonic that is a revelation though - they also produce the most crisp and delicious bitter lemon and a beautifully gingery ginger ale. My understanding is they source only the best and rarest ingredients, getting their quinine from the last remaining plantation of the original Chinchona trees! Well worth the effort I would say.
Thanks very much, Jason. I need to search it out Stateside--or perhaps (and better yet) get on a plane...!
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