The word “tonic” elicits thoughts of something bitter, beneficial to health, or perhaps even a favored cocktail base. When it comes to tonic water, the bitter tasting alkaloid “quinine” is the key ingredient – and it has a fascinating history. You may know that quinine was used in the battle against malaria – but did you know that the pairing of gin with tonic came long after years of consuming it with brandy, rum or wine? On this episode, I speak with Kim Walker and Dr. Mark Nesbitt – the authors of a new book on the topic of tonic, entitled Just the Tonic: a Natural History of Tonic Water

#Tonic #NaturalHistory #Cinchona