Try Sonic Instead of G&T or Highball This Summer
If you browse mixers at an upmarket grocery or liquor store these days, you’re sure to find an assortment of tonic waters. My personal favorite is Fever Tree elderberry tonic. Try it, it’s fantastic. Tonics can be great for helping bring out the flavor of the alcohol you are drinking, but they can also be a little overwhelming at times, especially when you really want to taste the alcohol you are mixing this shake with.
Traveling around Japan this week, I tried a tonic drink: Sonic. A quick Google search reveals that Sonics has been in vogue for a long time, but I’ve never seen it before.
Sonic stands for Soda and Tonic. To make one, you’re essentially half the tonic you’d normally use in drinks, and replace it with soda water by making it Sonic.
The Sonic I had was at Nikka Blender’s in Tokyo. Instead of gin, I drank a highball with Nikki’s whiskey. While highballs (usually spirits and soda) have long been a habit for me to drink whiskey during the warmer months, I never thought about mixing whiskey and tonic.
I’m here to tell you that it tastes good and you should definitely try it.
One hot tip I spoke to from a Tokyo bartender: don’t use a fancy tonic. While my favorite elderberry tonic is perfect for a regular G&T, if you’re making Sonic, you want something a little more traditional without exceptionally flavors.
A $ 2 bottle of tonic from the street store will do.
Grab an inexpensive bottle of tonic and a bottle of soda and get ready to discover your new favorite summer drink.