Is it worth spending more money on premium tonic water?

Is buying premium tonic water important or a waste of money?

When you think of premium tonic, you probably think of Fever-Tree. Many of us enjoy drinking it, but is it worth paying so much more? Head into Asda and you’ll find a bottle of the supermarket’s own-brand tonic costs around nine times less per 100ml.

“Before Fever-Tree, the tonic water category was dominated by Schweppes who still, to this day, sweeten some of their products with artificial sweeteners like saccharin and aspartame,” says Saskia Meyer, Fever-Tree’s UK marketing director. “The impact these sweeteners have on taste is considerable. They leave a cloying aftertaste and often mask the flavour of the spirit they are mixed with. Fever-Tree was launched to change the status quo, putting the best quality ingredients back into mixers. The crisp, clean taste, combined with the other botanical flavours, enhance the flavour of the spirit. We’ve helped revolutionise the G&T globally.”

Premium spirits continue to grow, and we seem to be drinking less, but better quality, so fancy tonics and mixers fit nicely into this trend. Most of your G&T is tonic, after all, so there’s not much point spending lots of money on a beautiful craft gin, only to drown it with a poor-quality mixer that masks the botanicals and flavours.

“With the huge array of gins and tonics on the market now, the possible pairings are endless and can be quite overwhelming for consumers,” notes Meyer. Indeed, Fever-Tree’s pairing guide is one of the most popular pages on their website.

Supermarkets are getting in on the action now too. Co-op, Asda and Sainsbury’s all sell their own premium versions of tonic, alongside their bog standard offerings.

“With over 360 distilleries in the UK, the tonic used to mix with the vast variety of gins on offer should be thoroughly considered, and not overpower the delicate flavours in the gin,” notes Ash Luxton, Co-op senior soft drink buyer. “Indian tonics and tonics with citrus and spice notes pair well with spicier-style gins, whilst an elderflower tonic is the perfect accompaniment for a floral gin. Experimenting with different flavoured tonics and a London Dry Gin is a great way to try new versions of the classic G&T, without splashing out on more than one gin.”

What do you think? Is it worth paying more mixers such as tonic or is this a waste of money? Do you splash out on expensive spirits – or are basic brands just as good? Share your views in the comments below