It was one of those summer nights. Warm with a soft breeze and a big moon—I was in my backyard in Brooklyn, at a table with 5 or 6 of my best friends. I plugged in the garden lights, and poured everyone some drinks.
It was immediately perfect. The conversation was flying—every story prompted another story, every joke reminded us of something else funny.
A couple of drinks in, my teeth felt strangely sticky. I brushed them with my finger and felt a little residue. While Jon was telling us about his new movie, I picked up the 1 liter bottle of tonic water and looked at the ingredients. 25 grams of high fructose corn syrup. And other ingredients that I didn’t recognize. Jerome’s girlfriend Sara was drinking a Sprite. I asked her if I could see the can. It had 26 grams of high fructose corn syrup.
“Do you know that tonic water has as much high fructose corn syrup as Sprite?” “Really?” “I thought it had no calories, like club soda.” And as soon as that we were onto a conversation about Fast Food Nation. And then Nickel and Dimed. 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 in 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 glowed like an emerald. Next to it, the plastic tonic water bottle with its label peeling off and its contents growing flat looked particularly decrepit.
“ What do you think about the idea of ‘top shelf tonic water’? Something’s that better than Schweppes? It could come in a really nice bottle. You think anybody would pay for it? People are already buying great gin and vodka. Why wouldn’t they want to mix it with something better?”
“Sure.” “I don’t see why not.” “Did anyone see the Daily Show last night?” “No, why?” “Ashcroft apparently put clothes on all of the nude statues at the Justice Department.” “Whadya mean…”
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. Worked hand-in-hand with food chemists and New York City’s best mixologists developing the right recipe. And spent late nights agonizing with one of America’s best young designers on our bottle. I think we’ve come up with a superior tonic water, one that’s good enough for one of those nights, or just any night.
Please enjoy.
Jordan Silbert, Founder, Q Tonic, Ltd.
November 1, 2006