Tonic Water (Quinine Syrup)

I mucked around with this and finally went back to the original Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s version.  He has a new version that uses a tincture of the cinchona bark.  I haven’t tried it yet, but it sounds like a good idea.  I have tried it and prefer it to this recipe.  Check out the new version here, but this original isn’t bad at all!  I probably don’t use quite as much lemongrass.  This with 209 Gin is unbelievable!

• 4 cups water
• 1 cup chopped lemongrass (roughly one large stalk)
• ¼ cup powdered cinchona bark
• zest and juice of 1 orange
• zest and juice of 1 lemon
• zest and juice of 1 lime
• 1 tsp. whole allspice berries
• ¼ cup citric acid
• ¼ tsp. Kosher salt
• ¾ cup of agave syrup for each cup of liquid

1. Combine ingredients, except agave, in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat.
2. Once mixture starts to boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Strain through a fine sieve, coffee filter, cheese cloth, Pur Filter or all of these until your liquid is as clear and free of sediment as possible.
4. Once you’re satisfied with the clarity of your mix, heat it back up on the stove top or microwave, and then add ¾ cup of agave syrup to each cup of your hot mix.
5. Stir until combined, and store in the attractive bottle of your choice.

You now have a syrup that you can carbonate with seltzer water. Tonic water is ¾ oz. Quinine Syrup to 2 oz. soda water.

To assemble a gin and tonic, use ¾ ounce of syrup, 2 ounces of gin and 2 ounces of soda water over ice.