Gin’s slow-down has been talked about for a while now, and with that naturally comes less of a demand for its partner in crime, tonic. While the G&T is still a popular serve and will no doubt remain so, tonic is seeking other options and showcasing itself as a versatile competitor in the mixer space, not just as a pairing for gin.
This versatility comes in different forms – for some tonics it’s the flavour of the liquid itself, and for others it’s how the tonic is used. Aurélie Panhelleux, co-founder of Copperbay Bars, says: “Long seen as the accompaniment of gin, tonic in its consumption has evolved a lot in recent years. This is partly due to the democratisation of cocktail bars, but also craft drinks.
“Tonic is a very versatile ingredient which can be used in cocktails with or without alcohol, but also brings a different taste signature due to its aromatisation. It can now be found on the menu of almost all bars in ever more surprising arrangements.
“For example, one of our signature cocktails is the Greek Tonic, using Metaxa, cold-brew liquor, citrus sherbet, tonic and coffee foam, which was inspired by the Coffee & Tonic that is consumed in many coffee shops, especially in Greece.”
The Absinthe Parlour in Hackney, east London, is another bar channelling the versatility of tonic to showcase spirits with its popular Absinthe & Tonic. Bar director Allison Crawbuck says: “With the booming interest in absinthe recently, the A&T has made absinthe even more approachable for adventurous drinkers looking for the next step from a G&T.”
Consumers are looking for experimentation in terms of serves and highlighting different spirits, as well as the origin of the tonics themselves. Pete Thornton, senior brand manager at Franklin & Sons, adds the brand’s Rhubarb & Hibiscus Tonic was developed to pair well with gin, “yet it also pairs beautifully with tequila, highlighting the versatility in premium tonics that consumers are after”.
He continues: “While Gin & Tonic continues to be a core serve, there is definitely a clear shift towards more diverse and enhanced drinking experiences. There’s definitely a wider movement toward bold and unconventional flavours, and even savoury cocktails, which ties into our own Rosemary & Black Olive tonic. With herbal notes and savoury characteristics, this tonic is a great example of how savoury elements can be introduced into mixed drinks, offering a more refined drinking experience. We see a real opportunity for savoury-led serves to become a bigger part of cocktail culture.”
Base ingredients
While brands such as Franklin & Sons look to flavour innovation in tonic, Clearer Twist is looking at the base ingredients for a point of difference. The high-alkaline water used to create the liquid is sourced from Turkey and considered to be a dry water, which is able to neutralise the acid of alcohol. Clearer Twist’s range includes French Pink, Tonic Water and Ginger Ale. Co-founder Ross Lazaroo-Hood notes: “High alkaline brings a naturally sweet water and less calories off the back of it. We want to be one product for all.
“We’re in the mid-mass market and want to bring a quality mixer to everybody in a part of the market that has been forgotten about. There’s an exclusivity in the market as the dominating brands are squeezing out others, so you have to find a USP. Hopefully we’ll see a change, but it’s about breaking down those barriers.”
Lazaroo-Hood continues: “G&T always has been and always will be a significant player, but people are branching out. Rum & Tonic is popular, the Paloma is driving a shift as well. I live in Malaysia and tamarind is a big one which is moving more into the western world, also Matcha & Tonic. Green tea & Tonic is also fantastic and people are willing to explore more now and coffee is in there as well. The world is waking up to being less diehard to a standard ice-cold latte to trying an Americano & Tonic, and I like to see how people are turning it on its head.”
Cyan Wong, brand ambassador and drinks creator for Schweppes, adds: “I think there’s going to be a lot of interesting ways of mixing and expressing long, carbonated, bitter, quinine drinks. I think the study of tonic and the study of mixing tonic is really a question of the study of flavours and quinine, how that relates to people’s palates or people’s comforts and how out there they’re willing to experiment. I think at the minute we’re at a really good place with that.”
Despite this experimentation and development of the category, it still has a way to go in some parts of the world, especially in the US which is still quite dominated by soda. Alex Leidy, general manager at Silver Lyan in Washington DC, notes: “We tend to see tonic almost exclusively served with gin and occasionally vodka. Generally speaking we see soda requested as a mixer with a lot more frequency than we do tonic. When making menu cocktails with a carbonated lengthener we’re most often reaching for a house-made soda with flavours pulled from the story that inspired the cocktail. As an example, our current menu is centred around taboos, so we make a coffee leaf soda for our Passo Falso cocktail, which comes out of the Italian restriction on drinking cappuccinos after noon.”
Pushing craft
On the tonic itself, at the moment the liquid does particularly well in Europe, but that’s not the case for other parts of the world due to restrictions on quinine, the key ingredient for the bitterness tonic is known for. Operating in Oregon, US, Faith Dionne, chief executive and founder of Dappled Tonic, says: “As far as craft tonic waters go there’s around five of us in the US (Chuala, Owen’s, Top Note, Strongwater and Dappled). What I was looking for with Dappled was not to keep up with tonic, but to keep up with spirits. Most Americans still think of tonic water as a commodity and don’t give much thought to the character of it, but that was the same with gin not long ago in the US.
“In Oregon alone we make around 70 gins, but there’s no tonic water and I’m pretty sure that’s because of the quinine and how locked down it is. Accessing it is really difficult and you have to have a lot of paperwork to prove you won’t use it for pharmaceutical applications. There’s also not many places to get it here. We found issues with ordering it from abroad because we were doing so at a small level, enough for two years at a time, but you have to be willing to buy barrels in this huge quantity which are already purchased and locked down by big tonic in the US, so that’s why no one is producing in smaller quantities. There are a lot of obstacles and most aren’t willing to go through those hoops so there aren’t many craft tonic brands,” adds Dionne.
It’s not just problems with quinine, there are also issues with sourcing the machinery to carbonate. “There was only one machine available locally which we’ve been using since the beginning and it now can’t keep up with our level of growth,” says Dionne. “We’re in the process of finding a new co-packer and it’s very likely we’ll be moving our packing to Colorado because that’s the closest we can get this machine.
“That’s how it is with small-to-mid-size beverages. It’s a new set of logistical challenges. The good thing is that growth is happening, and we looked into opportunities to stay local but it’s not possible.”
The Dappled range includes Aromatic, Citrus and Floral, with Dionne noting the Aromatic is “great for coffee & tonic, and I think that’s the whole idea”.
She adds: “Customising and finding something to your taste just hasn’t been a thing with tonic, it’s been a total snooze and there’s really no reason it has to be like this – there’s every reason to make it better and it can also be a standalone beverage. But it gets better when you pair it with spirits as you can tap into depth of flavour. I use the word stagnant a lot, it’s a stagnant category and people ask for improvement in every aspect of cocktails, from bitters to syrups, and tonic has not even been a conversation piece.”
