Recipe: Homemade tonic water

We have the ultimate tonic water recipe for you and we think it's a real game changer, because some ready-made syrups either taste very artificial, far too sweet or simply mask the gin if you want to use them to conjure up Gin Topic. And who wants a completely overpowering flavour? We certainly don't.

Opinions differ on gin, don't they? Some love it, others hate it. And when it comes to additional flavours and ingredients, that's when the debate really starts - those who love it particularly like the taste of botanicals in gin, and why? Because it is rich in flavours - primarily juniper, but in gin the list of other essences that can be experienced is long and rich and a good tonic water should support this and not mask it. Everyone seems to agree on that. The internet is full of home-made tonic waters - but none of them can compete with store-bought tonics like Fever Tree or Schweppes (at least we don't think so!).

What makes a good tonic? A good tonic should be light and not ridiculously sweet. It should only be slightly bitter and have a fresh citrus flavour. It shouldn't be too overpowering or too present.
Our recipe fulfils exactly 3 criteria and is inspired by the great recipe and blogpost from https://pinchandswirl.com/:

The syrup should be delicious, but simple enough to accentuate the gin flavour and not overpower it.
It should be only slightly sweet
It should be pleasantly bitter

Here is the recipe
Note: You will need jars with lids and some patience.

Ingredients:

• 1000 ml water
• 40 g cinchona bark (online or in the pharmacy)
• 30 g citric acid (powder)
• 30 g zest from 3 organic lemons
• 20 g zest from 4 organic limes
• 30 g zest from 2 organic oranges
• 4 stalks of lemongrass
• 5 cardamom pods, opened
• 1.5 g long pepper (supermarket)
• 2 slices of fresh ginger, peeled (approx. 10 g)
• 1 slice of fresh galangal (Thai ginger), peeled approx. 5 g (from an Asian shop)
• 4 g sea salt
• 1600 ml puréed sugar from:
• 600 ml water
• 1000 g sugar
• Mineral water with plenty of carbon dioxide

Here's how
Part 1 Preparation of the batch:

• Wash the lemongrass, beat until soft and chop into small pieces
• Prepare the zest and juice of the washed citrus fruits
• Place the juice and zest of the citrus fruits in one or more large, tightly sealable containers. (We like to use old honey jars)
• Add the ginger and galangal to the citrus zest.
• Finally, add the cinchona bark, citric acid, long pepper, opened cardamom pods and salt to the other ingredients in the jar or jars. Please note that if you are using 4 honey jars, for example, you must divide the mixture by four and divide evenly.
• Fill everything up with one litre of water (or proportionally depending on the jar used)
• Seal and place in the fridge.
• Shake the mixture once a day.
• You can finish the mixture after approx. 72 hours.

Part 2 Filter and finalise:

• After approx. 72 hours, pour your mixture through a kitchen sieve into a pot to separate the spices, peel and lemongrass etc. from the liquid.
• Then filter the syrup again through a coffee filter or kitchen towel. You will need more than just a little patience, because it takes time. But it's worth it.
• Make the purifying sugar: Boil 600 ml water and 1000 g white sugar and cool the resulting syrup to room temperature.
• Mix the tonic filtrate and lauter sugar in a saucepan until everything is evenly combined.
• Fill the finished tonic syrup into hot sterilised bottles.
• Store in the fridge. The syrup will easily keep there for several weeks.

Enjoy!
PS: Leave us a comment here if you have tried the recipe.