Jack Rudy's Tonic Syrup

17 oz jar - Charleston, SC 

A must have product for any gin and tonic drinker. The low amount of quinine and light hint lemongrass make this a truly wonderful product. Will Instantly make the best tonic you have ever had.

Small Batch Tonic
Jack Rudy Cocktail Co.

A long time ago, my parents used to stop at a shop in the town of Belmont and pick up Schweppes Tonic Water (est 1771) and Bitter Lemon (est 1957). The shop is long gone, but the memory is still strong. It was a special treat way back when. An imported product from England, it was Schweppes that helped shape my buds for how bubbly water should be and I thought the Bitter Lemon was the cat's meow. Most tonic waters today are nothing like the Schweppes of old.

Today, is not about the demise of our food, but the resurgence of tonic. (I am hoping it is not coinciding with a resurgence of malaria!) Not only a known, effective cure for malaria, quinine, the unique ingredient in tonic, has anti-inflammatory properties that can help with arthritis and lupus. It's the quinine that makes the bitterness in Bitter Lemon, or the truly unpleasant taste when quinine taken straight up that we have come to hate and love.

The modern “discovery” of quinine happened in the 1600’s by the Spaniards while conquering the Inca’s. The Inca's were the ones who knew that the tree that produced the bark that has the bite that produced the quinine that battled disease. The tree was renamed after the Spanish countess who was saved by the Incas from Malaria, whose husband did the conquering and the tree, now named Cinchona, was replanted in Indonesia. Like so many spices, it became very valuable, matching gold, ounce for ounce.

It was the Brits that invented the Gin and Tonic, first as mixture of soda water, sugar, quinine, and a healthy dose of gin, as a palatable way of swallowing the foul tasting quinine. Imagine the British Officers in the desert at cocktail hour sipping their Gin and Tonic whilst the troops swallowed the quinine straight up!

You don't need the desert, or the threat of Malaria to enjoy the wonderful, refreshing summer drink of a Gin and Tonic. Take 1.75 ounces of your favorite local Gin, add .5 ounces of Jack Rudy Tonic Syrup, add ice and top with soda water. Vary the Small Batch Tonic to your liking.