Tonic

A bitter-sour non-alcoholic carbonated drink. Often used to dilute alcoholic beverages, especially gin, for cocktail preparation. The drink was invented to fight malaria in India and Africa. At one time, soldiers of the British East India Company mixed tonic with gin to offset the sharp taste of quinine, thus the still popular cocktail gin-tonic appeared. Due to the quinine, tonic has strong anti-intoxication and hangover properties.

A tonic used for medical purposes consists only of carbonated water and a large amount of quinine. Tonic intended for consumption as a drink may contain corn syrup, sugar or artificial sweeteners.