International Gin and Tonic Day

During the East India Company, the main problem for Great Britain was not the resistance of the local population to the authority of the metropolis, but malaria. Scottish physician George Cleghorn suggested using cinchona bark to treat the disease. The crushed powder made from it contains quinine, an alkaloid that gives the healing drink a bitter taste. In order to neutralize it, it was decided to add sugar and sparkling water. This is how tonic water appeared, the use of which contributed to the prevention and treatment of malarial fever. The British mixed the bitter-sweet drink with gin, which dulled the harsh taste of quinine. Its most famous varieties include the invigorating Beefeater, the aromatic Bombay Sapphire and classics of the genre - Gordon’s and Tanqueray. This is how the famous gin and tonic cocktail and its variations appeared - “Negroni”, “French 75”, “Aviation”, etc. After the East India Company ceased to exist in 1798, the British returned home, bringing with them the traditions of drinking the popular cocktail. A holiday has been established in honor of the invigorating drink, which is drunk today in all countries and continents. October 19 is International Gin and Tonic Day. The homeland of the cinchona tree (lat. - Cínchona) is South America. Thanks to the plant, as legend has it, the wife of the governor of Spain in Peru was saved in 1638. His wife Countess Chinchon fell ill with Tertian fever (malaria), for the cure of which the Indians, according to another version - the Jesuits, advised the use of cinchona bark. It was crushed in a mortar and added to wine. “Red water” from the tree bark contained an alkaloid that was highly soluble in alcohol. It is possible that this is why, and not just to neutralize the bitter taste of quinine, tonic began to be consumed with gin. The plant was brought to Europe in the 1840s, and 20 years later its seedlings were smuggled into Indonesia, where the tonic was invented, which was the first to be produced on an industrial scale by Schweppes. Today, alcoholic cocktails are made not only with carbonated sweet drinks with quinine, but also with citric acid and other additives. It is believed that tonic maximizes the aroma of gin and emphasizes the taste of sloe or juniper, from the berries of which a drink with a strength of 37-40 degrees is prepared. Lime, cranberry or apple juice and a few ice cubes are also added to cocktails. The traditions of celebrating International Gin and Tonic Day are well known to bartenders and all alcohol lovers. October 19th is the perfect time to pop into a café or pub and order a classic cocktail to celebrate International Gin and Tonic Day.