Tonic Syrup

Use this syrup to make a single Gin & Tonic cocktail or stir up a small batch in a pitcher. The syrup allows you to customize the ratio of tonic to gin to suit your, or your guest's taste. Plus: Ultimate Cocktail Guide

Yield:
12 ounces

Ingredients

  • 1 cup water

  • 1 cup sugar

  • 1 lime half

  • 2 fresh lemongrass stalks, coarsely chopped

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinchona bark or quinine (see Note)

  • 1 teaspoon citric acid powder or lemon salt (see Note)

Directions

  1. In a small saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Stir in the sugar, lime, lemongrass, cinchona bark and citric acid powder. Simmer over moderate heat for 15 minutes. Strain through a coffee filter into an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 weeks.

Notes

The bark of cinchona trees produces quinine and it gives homemade tonic water an alluring bitterness. You can buy quinine powder from rain-tree.com. Citric acid or lemon salt is a key ingredient in homemade grenadine, citric acid is a nonalcoholic preservative derived from citrus fruit that also adds tang. Available from bestturkishfood.com.

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