To all the gin drinkers of OcUK... (tonic question)

Makhaira

Makhaira

Makhaira

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I've been into my gins for quite a while now, and really enjoy a good G&T and have half a clue about them (through studious and arduous research :P). What I've always been remiss about though is the tonic side of things (i.e. I've been a mainstream sheep!)....

...until this Christmas. My other half (and in this instance, definitely better) has introduced me to Fever Tree. The hype is definitely true, it's like nectar! Sat with a nice Whitley Neil gin with it at the moment, and really enjoying it.

So, the Yorkshire question is - where is it possible to get hold of Fever Tree without upending my wallet over a shop floor?
 
Makhaira said:
So, the Yorkshire question is - where is it possible to get hold of Fever Tree without upending my wallet over a shop floor?
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Nowhere - it's always that price. You'll find it fluctuates like everything else does, with the occasional special offer here and there, but it's usually around £3.30/litre.

However, and as I've said before, it's not the be-all and end-all of tonic water. It is however one of only three commercially available tonic waters which don't have any artificial sweetener in. The second is Fentimans, which comes in around £4/litre, and the third is Waitrose, which is a measly £0.50/litre.

Waitrose tonic water is simply the best value for money of any tonic water out there and, as far as I'm concerned, almost indistinguishable from the premium brands.

At 50p a bottle you'd have to be all kinds of crazy not to buy it over Fever Tree.
 
As of a couple of months ago I have a Waitrose not that far from me, I'll have to check it out! Cheers glitch.
 
As a very occasional treat I'll pick up a few bottles of the Fever Tree Mediterranean Tonic to have with a Gin Mare, but my everyday drink is always Waitrose tonic.

Waitrose could rebottle the stuff and sell it at the same premium price as Fever Tree and Fentimans and people would be falling over themselves to hail it as the best tonic water money could buy.

But fortunately for the likes of you and me, having Essential on the label keeps the price nice and low.
 
Superb, didn't know that the Waitrose tonic was natural like Fever Tree. Will be stocking up soon! Spent an absolute fortune on tonic water this festive season.
 
sainsburys are stocking it as well

the Fever tree with elderflower makes a superb G&T
 
Yeah the Waitrose one is lovely, my Mrs bought some back a few months before Christmas and we haven't bought anything else since.

What really grips my *** is when people buy nice Gin and then use god awful tonic in it :mad:
 
Looks like I'll be taking a stroll down the hill to Waitrose at the weekend, up till now I've always used asdas own.
 
I notice Morrisons do their own signature brand of tonic with elderflower..checked the ingredients and its listing sugar..and no artificial sweeteners
 
I'd be surprised if Morrisons tonic didn't have any sweetener in - their standard stuff uses Acesulfame K, as does the Hint of Lemon variety.

Don't recall seeing Elderflower on my last mooch around Morrisons... something new?
 
I've always used Schweppes tonic, is that pretty crap compared to Fever Tree and the Waitrose one then?
 
I use fentimans, except I pretty much show the tonic to the gin and that's plenty enough for me.

I'd say I'm 1 part tonic to 4 parts gin, with ice and slice. Mind you if I'm drinking gin it's usually neat or in the form of a very cold, very dry martini.
 
caff said:
I've always used Schweppes tonic, is that pretty crap compared to Fever Tree and the Waitrose one then?
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All down to personal taste at the end of the day, but my main point about Waitrose tonic being staggeringly good value is when you compare it to the other 'supermarket' tonics which don't have sweetener - like-for-like it's as good as Fever Tree and Fentimans, although the latter has a strong citrus note to it which might not please everyone.

And while I have a strong dislike for Schweppes, on balance it is far better than Sainsburys own-brand tonic, which is like drinking dishwater.

For me, tonic water preference goes roughly like this, based on recent tastings:

Sainsburys > Schweppes > Tesco > Britvic > 1870 > M&S > Fentimans > Waitrose > 1724 > Fever Tree > 6 O'Clock.
 
glitch said:
Nowhere - it's always that price. You'll find it fluctuates like everything else does, with the occasional special offer here and there, but it's usually around £3.30/litre.

However, and as I've said before, it's not the be-all and end-all of tonic water. It is however one of only three commercially available tonic waters which don't have any artificial sweetener in. The second is Fentimans, which comes in around £4/litre, and the third is Waitrose, which is a measly £0.50/litre.

Waitrose tonic water is simply the best value for money of any tonic water out there and, as far as I'm concerned, almost indistinguishable from the premium brands.

At 50p a bottle you'd have to be all kinds of crazy not to buy it over Fever Tree.
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I came in here to put a word in for Waitrose tonic as well. I also look for tonic that doesn't have artificial sweetener because I don't like the taste of it - didn't realise there were so few! I agree that Sainsburys own brand is horrible.
 
glitch said:
I'd be surprised if Morrisons tonic didn't have any sweetener in - their standard stuff uses Acesulfame K, as does the Hint of Lemon variety.

Don't recall seeing Elderflower on my last mooch around Morrisons... something new?
Click to expand...

its their 'signature' range

so like tesco finest or asdas extra special

99p for a 750ml bottle

no sweeteners listed in the ingredients..checked again last night
 
Just wanted to thank those who recommended the waitrose tonic water - it's great!

It reminded me of having a G&T in a very posh hotel I stayed at once.
 
Bit remiss of me not have posted back in here really - I've got some Waitrose now and it's excellent, many thanks for the tip.
 
May have to try some of that Waitrose stuff in my Plymouth at some point. Only bad point I can think of is it being in a bottle. Only tend to have 2 or 3 at a time and not that hugely regularly, so does tend to go a bit flat. Use the Schweppes mini cans at present as these have the right amount for me to mix with and no flat tonic issues
 
If you can get a Booker account they sell it for £13.79 per case of 24 x 200ml. Still a bit pricey at £2.80 a litre but £1.00/L cheaper than Tesco for the same size bottle and easier to keep fresh than the 500ml and 1.0L bottles.
 
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