Just the tonic : a natural history of tonic water / Kim Walker & Mark Nesbitt.
Material type: TextPublisher: Kew : Kew Publishing, Royal Botanic Gardens, 2019Copyright date: ©2019Description: 144 pages : illustrations (some color), map ; 26 cmISBN:- 9781842466896
- 1842466895
- TP620 .W35 2019
Item type | Current library | Call number | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lending Books | Elisabeth C. Miller Library Tall Shelves | QK98.5.A1 W25 2019 (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | Available | 39352800181364 |
Browsing Elisabeth C. Miller Library shelves, Shelving location: Tall Shelves Close shelf browser (Hides shelf browser)
QK98.5.A1 T46 2020 The botany of gin / | QK98.5.A1 T55 2019 A feast for the eyes : edible art from apples to zucchini / | QK98.5.A1 V26 2005 Food plants of the world : an illustrated guide / | QK98.5.A1 W25 2019 Just the tonic : a natural history of tonic water / | QK98.5.A1 Y68 1994 The chocolate tree : a natural history of cacao / | QK98.5.E85 G46 2014 Wild fruit / | QK98.5.G7 E55 2015 Empire of tea : the Asian leaf that conquered the world / |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Tonic water elicits images of sparkling drinks and stirred concoctions, but it has a history that reaches beyond the bar. Its roots go back centuries, starting with the Andes and the cinchona tree, and it had its start as a natural medicine instead of as a tasty mixer. Quinine, tonic water's signature ingredient, was once used to treat Malaria and is still used by some to soothe leg cramps. From the Quechua people and Spanish colonists, to French chemists and British officers, the journey from botanical discovery to cocktail staple is a fascinating story. This history of tonic water was written by leading experts from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew--which is home to one of the largest collections in the world of historic cinchona. It takes us through the discovery and development of quinine and its eventual meeting with sparkling water. It also introduces us to the basic botany and development of the cinchona tree. The authors look at the changing role of the gin and tonic, tracing the rise and fall, and rise again, of cocktails straight from officers' messes of British India, the art deco cocktail bars of the 1920s, through to the Mad Men era and the recent resurgence of gin as a drink of choice. A final chapter on cocktail recipes provides instructions on how to make alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks using an array of different tonics and spirits.