Tonic Syrup Recipe - NYT Cooking

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What is tonic? Like its partner gin, tonic can be a blend of many different things, depending on the recipe, which is generally proprietary. But, also like gin (which, no matter what other ingredients, must begin with juniper berries), tonic must start with quinine, which is derived from the bark of the cinchona tree of South America. —Eric Asimov

Featured in: Giving the Second Ingredient Its Due

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Ingredients

Yield:About 1 pint

2tablespoons cinchona bark flakes (see note)
½cup finely sliced lemon grass (about 3 stalks)
Zest of ½ lime, removed in long strips
Zest of ½ grapefruit, removed in long strips
3ounces grapefruit juice
1ounce lime juice
12allspice berries
Citric acid (also known as lemon salt)
Sugar

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Preparation

Step 1
In a medium saucepan, combine cinchona bark, lemon grass, lime zest and grapefruit zest. Add grapefruit juice, lime juice, allspice berries and 2 cups water. Simmer, covered, for 25 minutes. Remove from heat and pass through a fine strainer lined with muslin or cheesecloth into a bowl. Allow mixture to rest for at least 30 minutes, then carefully pour off liquid, leaving behind and discarding grainy particulates that have settled at bottom of bowl.
Step 2
For each cup of the resulting tonic water, add ¾ cup of sugar and 1 teaspoon citric acid. Cover and refrigerate until used.

Tip

Cinchona bark flakes are available from Kalustyan’s, (800) 352-3451, kalustyans.com.

Private Notes

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Ratings

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Comments

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Private

Yes too much sugar for my tastes. I am thinking about half of what is recommended. I substituted 1/2 tsp ground allspice for the berries which maybe was a bit much. It could use more lime of citric acid. Next batch I will adjust and report back. The ratio of tonic syrup to bubble water is 1 part syrup to 4 parts water. I do: 1.5 oz gin plus 2 tablespoons syrup with 8 tablespoons bubble water. On ice with a big squeeze of lime. I mix combine the syrup and water and pour it over the gin on ice.

Is this helpful? 12

Question: what is the quinine content of the finished recipe?

Is this helpful? 11

I have tried a few recipes for tonic syrup and this is by far the simplest, fastest and tastiest (nice to get all three in one recipe). I have been playing with non-sugar sweetners - monkfruit is too mild to compete with the acidity and with stevia the aftertaste is too strong for my liking. I stumbled upon Allulose at the food co-op - a monosaccharide sugar from figs etc and it is perfect. Sparkling water and a little slice of lime and this syrup is perfect for sipping with or without alcohol.

Is this helpful? 7

The allspice is way too strong IMO, it makes it taste like Christmas rather than tonic. I preferred it without the allspice at all, and definitely have the sugar.

Is this helpful?

I've been a tonic water lover all my adult life, but finally acquiring and brewing cinchona bark was a deep disappointment. The result seems to be all the tannins of over-brewed black tea and a gritty cabernet, with none of the tart bitterness present in quality commercial tonic waters. Eventually, I took the very non-hip step of ordering food-grade quinine. My home batches of tonic water tasted much better.

Is this helpful?

Have made this twice, using chunkier bark bought online that I broke down in the blender- this bark is reddish, becomes powdery when ground, and requires a lot of straining - and found this recipe to be straightforward and repeatable. And superior to off-shelf tonics. As with others I found the sugar to be too high in the recipe and have scaled back to 1/2 cup per cup of liquid, a 1:2 simple syrup, and use 1 oz syrup to 2 oz gin in my cocktail.

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Credits

Adapted from Frank Cisneros

Recipe Tags

Non-Alcoholic Drinks
Grapefruit Juice
Lemongrass
Summer

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