Anyone try the high-end tonic waters? Worth it

[bif]

I've seen brands called Q and Fever Tree. They go for about $8 a quart. I was wondering if they were worth the money. You can buy vodka for less money.

[Bunnahabhain]

1. Depends on the drink

and probably not for everyday drinking. If you're just going to put vodka in it use cheap tonic. It is the quinine that adds that distinctive taste, and if you have a good gin or plan on making a lighter cocktail, give it a shot with Q or Fever Tree. You should also try Fever Tree ginger beer in something like a Dark and Stormy.

[hobbit709]

2. A fool and his money....

[Chan790]

3. I have...and conditionally no.

I mean they're better than the $0.99/bottle Schweppes stuff but not worth the price.

For what they cost, you can make your own tonic water which is dramatically better than any commercial product...actually it costs a bit more but the yield is extremely large, like enough for 100 cocktails per batch. The hard part is sourcing the cinchona bark that provides the quinine and the distinctive flavor. (Don't buy cinchona bark by the pound...it's like $35/lb. and you wouldn't use it all in a decade unless you were giving away dozens of bottles of homemade tonic for Christmas or manufacturing anti-malarial drugs in your garage.)

The following link is to Jeffrey Morgenthaler's recipe...Morgenthaler is basically a rockstar of high-end home mixology...I keep waiting for him to write a book but he hasn't yet. Still, if you're into that kind of thing (He also provides recipes for making your own bitters, recipes for iconic classic cocktails, discussions of the origins of cocktails, tips and techniques to bartend better) bookmark his blog...I read it weekly.

http://www.jeffreymorgenthaler.com/2008/how-to-make-your-own-tonic-water/

Edit: Good homemade tonic...it's pink or yellow or whitish, never clear. The commercial stuff is clear because they use extracts as opposed to herbal ingredients. Also, the homemade stuff...you need to add 1 shot of neutral spirit (vodka works, everclear works, gin does not) in the bottles to act to inhibit growth or it will ferment and go bad.

[Bunnahabhain]

4. Morgenthaler is great

but sometimes it's just easier to buy premium ingredients. I do not use tonic much so when I get a new gin I'll buy a four pack of Fever Tree. Morgenthaler can get as geeky and complicated as he wants as this is what he does for a living. I make my own bitters but do not follow his recipes as I swear the guy makes everything have 28 more steps than needed to get good stuff.

[tjwmason]

13. Now that has me very tempted...

Home-made tonic strikes me as great fun.

[Demoiselle]

5. I've never gone higher than Schweppes...but I do mix it with Bombay Sapphire for my gin-and-tonics.

I was chided by a Martini drinker for "wasting" good gin with tonic. Since the one Martini I've ever tried tasted like cleaning fluid to me, I gently ignored him. Well, maybe not so gently. He was, after all, in my house drinking my very good gin.

[Demoiselle]

6. Where do I find Q and Fever Tree? (Philadelphia.)

[Chan790]

8. Whole Foods carries Q. Fever Tree I see often in high-end wine shops.

Availability from their websites:

Q
Philadelphia
Bars and Restaurants

Barclay Prime
Buddakan Restaurant
El Rey
Misconduct Tavern
Tashan
The Dandelion

Retail

DiBruno Bros’s
Essene Market & Cafe
Klein’s Supermarket
Milk and Honey Market
North Country Store
Weavers Way Co-op - Chestnut Hill
Weavers Way Co-op - Mt. Airy
Whole Foods (MA-PHL) Philly/Callowhill
Whole Foods (MA-SOS) South Street
Williams-Sonoma #420 Philadelphia- The Bellvue

Fever Tree's website says to contact them to find your local retailer or buy their product on Amazon.

[Demoiselle]

10. Wow. Thank you very much!

[Demoiselle]

11. Self-deleted. (Repeated myself.)

[olddots]

7. wanna buy a bridge ?

[azurnoir]

9. If it comes with

a bottle of Tanqueray Rangpur maybe or then again maybe not

[NV Whino]

12. I tried some Q

It was okay. It was free so I certainly wouldn't pay the price to get more.