Just the Tonic: A Natural History of Tonic Water

by Kim Walker, Mark Nesbitt

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.
The book won the Fortnum & Mason Food & Drink awards 2020 for Debut Drink Book.

Genres: Nonfiction, Food, History

144 pages, Hardcover

Published October 19, 2019

About the author

Kim Walker specialises in researching the history of plants as medicines. She is currently working on a PhD on cinchona and quinine at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Royal Holloway, University of London. She is on the committee of the Herbal History Research Network, the British Society for the History of Pharmacy, the Society of Economic Botany and is a member of the Association of Foragers. For research and consultancy, her website is www.kimwalkerresearch.co.uk

Kim is also the co-author of The Handmade Apothecary (Kyle Books, 2017) and The Herbal Remedy Handbook (Kyle Books, 2019). Her educational herbal and foraging walks, talks and workshops can be found at www.handmadeapothecary.co.uk

Reviews

[J. Lee Hazlett]

4.25 stars. This book was much more aesthetically pleasing than I anticipated. I thought it was going to be mostly text, but it's actually more of a coffee table book that you can hold comfortably in one hand while sipping a G & T with the other. Well-researched and tightly written, this is one of those rare books that manages to talk about botanical topics and concepts without losing the non-botanist reader. I rarely purchase new physical books these days, but I am very glad that I ponied up for this one.

[Erin]

A delightful overview of the discovery of quinine. Full of beautiful pictures and advertisement this book is a high level overview of the creation of tonic water, its history and how it got to the present. This is not a complete and in-depth look at everything but an excellent starting point for those interested in food history. The book touches on a bit of everything and is full of pictures. The old advertisement and illustrations are lovely.

[Melissa Marwedel]

This was a very interesting book. I didn't know anything about the origin of tonic water. I learned so much! I do not drink alcohol, so the chapter on gin was not so interesting. The recipes in the last chapter included some non-alcoholic mocktails, which was nice. The real value in the book was the gorgeous illustrations from primary sources.

[Billy Abbott]

A very pretty book with much less content than its size would suggest. The illustrations and historical documents are excellent and the main text is very well researched, although it is obviously not written by drinks people – that side of things is the weakest in the book, hence my rating, as it is a book about drinks. Lots of useful information, but just not as much about tonic water as I’d hoped

[Allie]

I thought it would go more in-depth, but it really just touches on the history. The pictures, art, and adverts though are amazing. A beautiful book.

[Imogen Molly]

A beautifully illustrated book giving the stage light to Tonic for once. I learnt a lot from this, would recommend!

[AskNezka]

Excellent illustrated history of the botany and development of the use of quinine from the cinchona tree in beverage form.

[Sesana]

Admirably thorough for the length, and handsomely illustrated. This is kind of like a Reaktion Edible book on steroids, which is indeed a compliment.