Journal

Is Tonic Water Good for You? Sugar, Quinine, and What to Know

Is tonic water good for you? The short answer: it's a soft drink. It isn't a health drink, and for most people it isn't harmful in normal amounts either. The two things worth knowing about are the ...

What Is Tonic Water? What's in It, How It Tastes, and How to Use It

Tonic water is a carbonated soft drink flavored with quinine, the bitter compound from the bark of the cinchona tree. It's sweetened to balance the bitterness, and it's best known as the "tonic" in...

Quinine

Quinine is the compound that makes tonic water bitter. It comes from the bark of the cinchona tree, a South American evergreen, and it is the single ingredient that separates tonic water from plain...

How to Make Tonic Water at Home (Without the Quinine Risk)

You can make tonic water at home, and it will taste better than anything in a bottle. You can also give yourself ringing ears and a pounding headache if you get one ingredient wrong. Both are true....

Cynar Spritz

A Cynar spritz is the bittersweet answer to an Aperol spritz. Here is the 3-2-1 recipe, the right ratio, and a lower-proof version with real bite.

Aperol vs Campari

Aperol is lighter and sweeter, Campari stronger and more bitter. Here is which to buy first, how to swap them, and a zero-proof way to get the flavor.

Mocktail Bar

How to set up a mocktail bar guests actually love: the shopping checklist, how much to buy per guest, the layout, and five builds worth repeating.

Best Non-Alcoholic Gin

The best non-alcoholic gin tastes like juniper and botanicals, not flavored water. Here are 8 zero-proof bottles worth pouring, plus how to build a real NA gin and tonic.

Gin and Tonic Garnishes

Stop defaulting to a lime wedge. How to match a gin and tonic garnish to the gin's botanicals and the tonic, plus the alcohol-free version.

Spritz Garnishes: How to Finish an Aperol Spritz and Every Other Spritz

How to garnish a spritz, the right way. The orange slice question settled, a garnish for every spritz, and how to finish the alcohol-free version too.