I am not sure how much of the syrup is needed to make tonic water, but we used about 1/2 to 3/4 tsp in 6 oz of seltzer water. For a gin and tonic, you would need 1/2 tsp syrup per 1 oz of gin (plus lime and seltzer water, to taste), but we discovered that vodka works just as well as gin, since this tonic water has juniper berry in it. The vodka tonic ends up tasting like gin and tonic, which will save money.

We will also cut back on calories by using Splenda instead of sugar. We have been buying Schweppes tonic water, but it is made with HFCS, which is the main reason that I wanted to make my own. We both like the tonic water I made better than Schweppes. You can also vary the botanicals in the tonic water. Some recipes call for lemongrass, but I decided to omit that. I made my first batch with all lemon zest (instead of lemon and orange or grapefruit) because that's what I had on hand, but I think grapefruit would add a good flavor.

We did not have Everclear and had to go to a liquor to buy that, but while we were there we stocked up on wine as well, since we were out of red wine. I also wanted to buy some Cabernet (which we do not drink, as a rule) to use to make some vinegar. Next I have to buy some organic cider vinegar that has the mother, but that should be easy to find.

Hot weather will be here soon. When I work outside in the garden, I drink a lot of liquid. Your recipe sounds very interesting. Thank you.

I am also thinking of making my own carbonated drinks. This will make it more interesting.

dcarch

I love tonic water but haven't had any in years. I don't have any reason to restrict sugar, tho. How much do you think it might use?

If you want to use sugar, this recipe would require 400 grams. I do not know how much that would be in cups, but you need to use a scale to make this recipe anyway.

BTW, you can get any of the unusual ingredients from Amazon, such as angelica root, juniper berries, and chinchona bark. I already had a good supply of green cardamom pods, which I use in Indian dishes and also to make Berbere spice mix. I usually buy citric acid at a Lebanese market, but I ordered that also so that I would have a good supply. I used most of what I had when I was dehydrating apples.

I missed that link before now. Saved the original recipe. That looks like a fun project - thanks for sharing 🙂

The original recipe did not have cloves and allspice, which I think do add to the flavor. Of course you can revise the botanicals to your own taste, as I mentioned before. I also added a bit more water than the original recipe because it seemed to need it in order to cook the spices. I did not increase it much, but some recipes use a lot more water, and I do not think that is necessary.

We have a couple of good natural foods markets here where most of those herbs are available. And it's even possible to buy quinine tincture without making it from the bark yourself.

I've seen quinine tincture for sale, but it was quite a bit more expensive than the cinchona bark powder. All of the recipes that I saw for tonic water specified making the quinine extract, and I'm not sure how to compare the potency of the quinine extract to the quinine tincture. I would expect the tincture to be a lot stronger. At this point, I have a large supply of cinchona bark, which only cost about $11.

Sounds great. Wonder if I’d miss the fizz?

It's a syrup you mix with seltzer.

Here is the revised recipe, for the moment:

Quinine Tincture

• 6.5 grams powdered cinchona bark
• 160 ml (5.33 oz., 2/3 cup) Everclear

For the botanicals

• 20 grams citric acid
• 20 grams angelica root
• 20 grams lemon peel, peeled with a vegetable peeler
• 20 grams orange peel, peeled with a vegetable peeler
• 30 grams grapefruit peel, peeled with a vegetable peeler
• 15 allspice berries
• 10 whole cloves
• 8 grams coriander seed
• 5 grams green cardamom pods (cracked in mortar & pestle)
• 5 grams juniper berries
• 1-2 stalks lemongrass, cut into quarter-inch rounds (optional)
• 550 ml water (2-1/3 cups)
• 2 cups bulk Splenda, equiv to 2 cups sugar, or 48 packets Splenda

Make the quinine tincture

• Mix the cinchona powder with the Everclear, cover, and let sit overnight. Strain through a paper towel in a strainer being careful not to add the sediment. Discard sediment.

Make the botanical syrup

1. Add all the ingredients except Splenda to a medium saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat until it comes to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Add the Splenda. Store in fridge 2-3 days mixing twice a day.
2. Measure out 60 ml (2 ounces) of the quinine tincture and mix into the cooled syrup. Keep the rest of the quinine tincture in an airtight container (the tincture will keep indefinitely). Store the syrup in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It should keep for at least 3 weeks. Makes 28 oz. (7/8 qt) of syrup.

Double recipe:

• 40 grams citric acid
• 40 grams angelica root
• 40 grams lemon peel, peeled with a vegetable peeler (1 large lemon)
• 40 grams orange peel, peeled with a vegetable peeler (1 navel orange)
• 60 grams grapefruit peel, peeled with a vegetable peeler (1 ruby grapefruit)
• 30 allspice berries
• 20 whole cloves
• 16 grams coriander seed
• 10 grams green cardamom pods (cracked)
• 10 grams juniper berries
• 3 stalks lemongrass, cut into quarter-inch rounds (optional)
• 1100 ml water (4-1/2 cups)
• 4 cups bulk Splenda, equiv to 4 cups sugar, or 96 packets Splenda

Add 120 ml (4 oz) quinine tincture, or to taste

Makes 56 oz. (7 cups, 1-3/4 quarts)

*Note: if you want to use Vodka instead of Gin, add more of this syrup to the drink. You only need a few drops of the syrup for one drink, and so I store it in a squeeze bottle that originally had mustard in it. I am considering adding sarsaparilla or camomile to the next batch.

I am no longer able to edit my last post, and I needed to update the recipe:

I made another batch of diet tonic syrup yesterday, and I noticed that on the double recipe, I neglected to double the quantity of fruit. Also, I could not get 40 grams of lemon peel from two lemons, and so I used two lemons and two limes. I got 70 grams of grapefruit peel from two grapefruits and 50 grams of orange peel from two oranges, and I decided to use all of this. It came out with a bit more citrus flavor, but that is not a bad thing.

The bad thing is that the 4 oz bag of angelica root is not quite enough for three batches, and so I substituted 3 grams of sarsaparilla root for some of the angelic root. I'll try not to do that again, but the herbal flavor is fine. For the double batch, I added three camomile tea bags and three lemongrass tea bags, which I steeped in the mixture after simmering.