It even looks like the perfect summer drink. Tall, cold, and bubbly with a slice of lime, a gin and tonic is a tropical tradition dating back more than a century. British colonials in India and beyond mixed quinine with carbonated water as an antimalarial medication. Adding gin helped disguise quinine's bitter taste. Modern tonic waters still contain quinine, but in smaller, non medicinal amounts. Its still works magic, though, when mixed with a proper London gin in an ice-filled glass. Then as now, a gin and tonic doesn't actually repel mosquitoes. But after a couple you won't mind the bites so much.
photo and story by Field & Stream June 2011
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