• Captivating and beautiful gift book on the history of tonic water

• Illustrated throughout with stunning and fascinating historical artwork, posters, illustrations and photographs

• Chapters cover the discovery and botany of the cinchona tree, its use as a malaria cure, cinchona plantations and the empire, the invention of soda water, early mixology and the first tonic waters, temperance and tonics, and the rise and fall and rise again of the G&T

• Tonic cocktail recipes both alcoholic and non-alcoholic

• Written by leading experts from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in an accessible and engaging style

• First book on the history and role of tonic water, this unique addition to the popular drinks book market will complement the current gin/rum/cocktail crazeJust the Tonic is an accessible yet informative history of tonic water: its connections to the major disease malaria, the cure discovered in the bitter bark of the cinchona tree and its constituent alkaloid quinine. It is a history deeply intertwined with botanical exploration and empire in the Victorian era, and the role of botanical gardens such as Kew.