Cask and Still Magazine | 63 >>>
quinine was first discovered by spanish settlers in 17th century peru
The perfect accompaniment to mother’s ruin, we look back at how tonic became gin’s best friend
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ith a gin revival taking hold of pubs and retailers all across the UK, it is little wonder that the spotlight is now shining brightly on its closest friend, namely tonic water. If you are going to spend in excess of £40 on a bottle of lovingly-produced small-batch gin, what accompanies it is suddenly assuming a far greater importance. The origins of this quintessentially British drink, the G&T (aka the Highball) go back to the Age of Empire, when Europe was slicing up the world, and specifically to when the Spanish Conquistadors took over South America. Quinine – tonic water’s main component and the one
CS08 Gin Feature Tonic.indd 63
providing the characteristic bitter flavour – was first discovered by Spanish settlers in 17th century Peru, when a remedy to malaria was found from extracting the bark of the quinaquina tree. There are different stories on how the cure was brought back to the Old Continent, one suggesting that it was the Countess of Chinchon, the wife of the Peruvian viceroy, who brought the precious tree, which, in honour of the countess, took the name of chinchona tree in Europe. Another version ascribes the discovery to a Jesuite expedition. The exact truth is lost in the mists of time, but there’s little doubt that tonic water came from Peru. About a century after the introduction of quinaquina on the European marketplace,
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