[Ad- gifted product] The kind people at Yorkshire Tonics sent us along a sample of some of their tonic range. We set ourselves the challenge of using them as mixers, but avoiding the somewhat obvious pairing of Gin and Tonic. Gin and Tonic has been a staple drink of the UK public for far longer than we’ve been alive, and so it’s a wholly cheap shot. Instead, we decided we’d dabble with other taste fusions – hopefully building on Yorkshire Tonics’ carefully blended flavours
Tonic water has peculiar origins, although I suppose it’s not really weirder than most of the other mixers or liquors out there. Several popular alcoholic drinks started out as medicines before the recipe changed up a little and they found a new role as alcoholic beverages, tonic water had a similar origin. It was originally used as a preemptive medication to reduce the chance of malaria for the British in the colonial India of the early 1800s. After a while, it found its way into several other uses and started being sold commercially. Naturally, it was mixed with alcohol and, well, we’ve all heard about Gin and Tonics, so it clearly works quite well.
Yorkshire Tonic, from Raisthorpe Manor, was actually designed to accompany their own gins – of which they have a massive selection, including lesser-seen ones like Sloe, Damson and Gooseberry. However, as we said at the start of the article, we’re aiming to prove the versatility of the tonics, which means that we’re stepping away from the usual gin pairing.
