Overview

Just 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.

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9781842466896

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A complete history of tonic water, including a chapter on both alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktail recipes. --Bookseller

A complete history of tonic water, including a chapter on both alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktail recipes. --Bookseller Discoveries from this latest fact-finding expedition launched from London's Kew Gardens reveal nearly everything I learned about tonic water is a myth. The true story told here traverses the globe; from the age of exploration through the Industrial Revolution and beyond, before dropping readers off in the midst of a mixed drink renaissance. From fever trees to pharmacies and mixology; few tipples team with a tale as beguiling and quixotic as quinine. --Jim Meehan, author of The PDT Cocktail Book and Meehan's Bartender Manual

Author Information

Kim Walker trained as a medical herbalist, and now specialises in the history of plant medicines. She is currently working on a PhD on cinchona at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. She is on the committee of the Herbal History Research Network, the British Society for the History of Pharmacy and is a member of the Association of Foragers. She is the co-author of The Handmade Apothecary (Kyle Books, 2017) and The Herbal Remedy Handbook (Kyle Books, 2019). Mark Nesbitt is curator of the Economic Botany Collection at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and his research centres on botany and empire in the nineteenth century, and on the history and current day management of botanical collections. He is the co-author of Curating Biocultural Collections (Kew Publishing, 2014) and The Botanical Treasury (Andre Deutsch, 2016).

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