With summer finally here, it is a prime time to brush up on your knowledge of the history of the Gin and Tonics via BBC.co.ok:
Gin and Tonics were -like Gin itself- originally developed as a medicine. In this case to help fight malaria. When the British were in the East they became susceptible to malaria and eventually found out that quinine (an ingredient in Tonic Water) was useful for getting rid of the disease. Well, as you would probably expect, drinking Tonic Water by itself is pretty nasty (unless you’ve acquired a taste for it) and they had problems getting the British in the East to drink it. Along comes our friend Gin to be mixed with the Tonic Water, which not only made drinking it much more pleasant, but also created an excellent drink that would be remembered from then on, even if its relationship to the disease was forgotten. So, as you can see, Gin and Tonic Water came about due to medicinal reasons, then caught on later for thier more pleasurable aspects.On a minor note, the Lime or Lemon (served in any GOOD Gin and Tonic) being a citrus fruit (and therefore containing Vitamin C) helps to prevent scurvy. Usually the limes are not the dominant ingredient of Gin and Tonic, so they won’t actually get rid of scurvy if you’ve already got it – unless you drink A LOT of Gin and Tonics of course.
As my own addition to the history of the best drink on earth, the first ever tonic water was invented by Dr. Schweppes in Sweden. Aside from supporting the outfit that invented the recipe, Schweppes is the best tasting, and I find it to be the only tonic water worth purchasing.
As another note worth mentioning, “G&T” was President George Bush Jr’s nickname in college.