In India and other tropical regions, malaria was a persistent problem. In the 1700s it was discovered that quinine could be used to treat the disease, although the bitter taste was unpleasant. British officers in India in the early 19th century took to adding a mixture of water, sugar, lime and gin to the quinine in order to make the drink more palatable. Since it is no longer used as an antimalarial, tonic water today contains much less quinine, is usually sweetened, and is consequently much less bitter.

This recipe harkens back to the days of yore when a gin and tonic had a pleasant bitterness, without the acidic and medicinal taste of artificial quinine.

It starts with a syrup:

350 ml water
50 g Chinchoa bark (pieces, not ground)
10 g cinnamon sticks, broken into pieces
10 g allspice berries
7 g citric acid
225 g cane sugar

Bring water to a boil. Add cinochoa bark, cinnamon sticks, and allspice. Kill the heat and let steep for 20-30 minutes.

Strain twice using a fine mesh strainer, using cheesecloth for the second time. (You can filter a third time using a coffee filter to remove the last few specs of cinochoa bark, but it is not necessary.)

When the cinochoa tea has cooled to a bit warmer than room temperature, add the citric acid and sugar, shake to mix over a few minutes. Keep in the refrigerator.

The cocktail is as simple as 1, 2, 3:

One part syrup, two parts gin, three parts club soda, poured into a glass over ice. Garnish with a lime.