Q Tonic: Enthusiastically Recommended by Whom You Know! Top Shelf belongs with Top Shelf!
It is only 2pm in Manhattan but Peachy Deegan is already thinking about happy hour, and surely there are some of you out there that are thinking the same way. We don't like to do things in an ordinary way at Whom You Know, and so Peachy is thinking about Q Tonic. As you Whom You Know readers know, Champagne Wishes is our column for all alcoholic drinks. In this case, you should be aware that Q Tonic is non-alcoholic; however, it is meant to be used with alcohol. It is our inaugural non-alcoholic entry!
The Q Tonic story from Q Tonic's founder, Jordan Silbert:
It started on a warm summer night in Brooklyn. A couple of good friends were in my backyard for gin & tonics.
A couple of drinks in, my teeth felt strangely sticky. While Jon was talking, I picked up the bottle of tonic water and looked at the ingredients. 25 grams of high fructose corn syrup! Artificial flavors. And artificial preservatives. Sara was drinking a Sprite. I asked to see the can. It had 26 grams of high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors, and artificial preservatives.
“Do you know that tonic water is virtually the same thing as Sprite?” “Really?” “I thought it was like club soda.” And as soon as that we were on to something else. And then something else.
Maybe it was the gin, but the idea lingered. Justin brought this great (and expensive) bottle of Tanqueray over. And we were mixing it drink after drink with something that was basically soda. Right then I looked up and the moon was shining down on the table. The light caught the Tanqueray and it looked like a glowing orb of green gin goodness. Next to it, the plastic tonic water bottle with its label peeling off and its contents growing flat looked particularly decrepit.
In a flash I realized I could make a superior tonic water. One made from authentic ingredients and good enough to mix with my favorite gins, vodkas and rums.
I’ve spent the last four years working to make that great tonic water. I’ve tracked down farmers from the Peruvian Andes and the Mexican countryside to source ingredients. Made the recipe in my Brooklyn kitchen. And spent late nights agonizing with one of America’s best young designers to make a bottle as beautiful as the liquid it holds. We’ve come up with a superior tonic water.
***
And here is what the fabulous panel of Whom You Know thought:
"A premium vodka and gin deserves a premium tonic. We all know that when ordering a drink, you would never say just a vodka tonic or gin & tonic. You would say 'Grey Goose and tonic or a Bombay and tonic, please.' We care so much about a specific brand of liquor, shouldn’t we care as much about what they are mixing it with? It’s time to have a comparable tonic to pair with your favorite brand of liquor! Q Tonic fills this niche amongst the ordinary, calorie loaded tonics available on the market. The flavor is far superior and not as sweet allowing you to be more refreshed with every sip. And at 60% fewer calories how can you go wrong. On top of all that, the bottle has a sleek, clean look (ditch those yellow label bottles) that allows it to be left out on the bar at our elegant parties. How Chic! So from now on you know what to do…step up to the bar and order a yourself a Bombay Q."
"Coming across Q Tonic, I learned something I that I didn't know before, that some major brands of tonic water out there are actually manufactured with synthetic quinine. I was appalled to find this out, never realizing that I was most likely imbibing the imitation, inferior tonic with my cocktails, and until I finally got to enjoy a drink made with Q Tonic, did I realize what I've been missing out on. While a gin and tonic barely cracks my top 10 list of favorite drinks, I must say that the top shelf gin and Q Tonic that I fixed for myself just bumped its way up on that list. It was so crisp and
refreshing, actually one of the cleanest-tasting drinks I've had in quite some time. I liked how the organic agave gave it a lightly sweetened kick, vs. the overly-sweetened with corn syrup mass-produced variety of tonic that sometimes overpower whatever it's mixed with. Q Tonic can also stand tall on its own and be consumed as a beverage in its own right, for those of us who'd like a break from alcohol. In the future, I'll be sure to request for my tonic-mixed drinks to be made with Q Tonic or not at all, and it looks like that's not such an unreasonable request, as a quick search thru Q Tonic's website shows that Q Tonic is available at many fine dining and bar establishments,
not to mention it's sold at a number of gourmet food stores throughout the city. At the end, it all makes sense, if you're gonna serve drinks made from the best top shelf spirits, it's a sin to pair it
with a tonic that just doesn't measure up to Q Tonic."
"Just when you thought there were no beverages out there that you hadn't tried, along come the folks at Q Tonic in good old Brooklyn New York with a unique formula for a truly better tonic. Straight up and well chilled, Q Tonic offers up a new and interesting combination of tastes that make you rediscover one of your favorite mixers. The tonic by itself is sharp and invigorating, and is enjoyable on its own without even a thought of adding anything alcoholic. I always have to mix tonic due to its sweetness, but I enjoyed Q Tonic on its own with a cleanliness similar to a mineral water or seltzer. Its gentle sweetness is evident due to its use of organic agave, as opposed to mass produced tonics use of common corn syrups. Water is the most important ingredient in so many products, and Q Tonic makes no exception by triple purifying their water. They also know their beverage history well, and seem to respect the old traditions of tonic production, using fine Peruvian quinine to flavor their water. I mixed this authentic tonic with a couple of very fine vodkas, and the result was a better drink that allowed the high quality vodka characteristics to flower, while blending tastes well and still being able to hint at the superior qualities of the tonic water."
Where you can find Q Tonic:
Restaurants
Blue Hill at Stone Barn (NY)
Bobby Flay’s (Las Vegas)
Café Juanita (Seattle)
Gramercy Tavern (NYC)
L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon (NYC)
Mozza Osteria (Los Angeles)
Mustard’s Grill (Napa)
NOPA (San Francisco)
Cocktail Bars
Anvil (Houston)
Apothecary (Philadelphia)
Eastern Standard (Boston)
Elixir (San Francisco)
Little Branch (NYC)
PDT (NYC)
Zeta Bar (Sydney)
Hotels
Four Seasons Hotel (NYC)
Hudson Hotel (NYC)
Peninsula Hotel (Hong Kong)
Waldorf Astoria Hotel (NYC)
W Hotel (Hong Kong)
Groceries
Colmado Quilez (Barcelona)
Corte Inglès (Spain)
David Jones (Australia)
Draeger’s (Northern California)
Fairway (NY)
Hen House (Midwest)
Surfas (Los Angeles)
Whole Foods (CA, NY, NJ, CT, MA, RI, ME, TX, and British Columbia)
Liquor Stores
BevMax (Connecticut)
BevMo! (California)
Gary’s Liquors (New Jersey)
Marty’s Liquors (Boston)
Martignetti’s (Boston)
Sam’s Wines (Chicago)
Spec’s Liquors (Texas)
Stew Leonard’s Wines (Connecticut & New Jersey)
Surdyk’s (Minnesota)
Wine Library (New Jersey)
