Just the Tonic: A Natural History of Tonic Water - Hardcover

Walker, Kim; Nesbitt, Mark

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1842466895 ISBN 13: 9781842466896

Publisher: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, 2020

Synopsis

Tonic water elicits images of sparkling drinks and stirred concoctions, but it has a history that reaches beyond the bar. Its roots go back centuries, starting with the Andes and the cinchona tree, and it had its start as a natural medicine instead of as a tasty mixer. Quinine, tonic water’s signature ingredient, was once used to treat Malaria and is still used by some to soothe leg cramps. From the Quechua people and Spanish colonists, to French chemists and British officers, the journey from botanical discovery to cocktail staple is a fascinating story.
Just the Tonic is an accessible yet informative history of tonic water, written by leading experts from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew—which is home to one of the largest collections in the world of historic cinchona. It takes us through the discovery and development of quinine and its eventual meeting with sparkling water. It also introduces us to the basic botany and development of the cinchona tree.
The iconic gin and tonic cocktail is not forgotten in these pages. The authors look at the changing role of the drink, tracing the rise and fall, and rise again, of cocktails straight from officers’ messes of British India, the art deco cocktail bars of the 1920s, through to the Mad Men era and the recent resurgence of gin as a drink of choice. A final chapter on cocktail recipes provides instructions on how to make delicious alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks using an array of different tonics and spirits. Mixed into the book are reproductions of stunning historical artwork, posters, and photographs.
This is the first authoritative book on the history and role of tonic water, making it the perfect addition to both bookshelves and bar carts.

About this title

About the Author

Kim Walker trained as a medical herbalist and now specializes in the history of plant medicines. She is currently working on a PhD on cinchona at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and Royal Holloway, University of London. She is the coauthor of The Handmade Apothecary and The Herbal Remedy Handbook. Mark Nesbitt is curator of the Economic Botany Collection at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. He is the coauthor of Curating Biocultural Collections and The Botanical Treasury, the former published by Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and the latter published by the University of Chicago Press.

Review

“A complete history of tonic water, including a chapter on both alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktail recipes.” (Bookseller)

“Discoveries from this latest fact-finding expedition launched from London’s Kew Gardens reveal nearly everything I learned about tonic water is a myth. The true story told here traverses the globe; from the age of exploration through the Industrial Revolution and beyond, before dropping readers off in the midst of a mixed drink renaissance. From fever trees to pharmacies and mixology; few tipples team with a tale as beguiling and quixotic as quinine.” (Jim Meehan, author of The PDT Cocktail Book and Meehan’s Bartender Manual)

Edition details

• Publisher: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
• Publication date: 2020
• ISBN 10: 1842466895
• ISBN 13: 9781842466896
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 144