Tonic water

TONIC BOOM When mixologist Tim Lacey undertook what became the surprisingly simple process of making his own tonic water, it wasn’t in the spirit of protesting Canada Dry. Instead, Lacey says, “I wanted to do it just to do it.” It didn’t hurt that until he started making it himself, Lacey found that “so many tonics out of the bottle are boring.” Echoing a distaste for the mass-produced stuff, mixologist Adam Seger says he was disturbed by the fact that most big tonic makers fill their product with corn syrup. So, a little while after Lacey started making tonic, Seger started to as well.

The benefit of producing housemade tonic water is that it can take on whatever flavors the mixologist chooses. So while all of these tonics heavily feature quinine (the bark of the cinchona tree that provides tonic with its signature bitterness and gives these housemade versions a rich orangish color), the rest is up to interpretation. Lacey’s original recipe, still served at Custom House (500 S Dearborn St, 312-523-0200), is a straightforward mix of lemon, lime and sugar, while the tonic he serves at the Drawing Room (937 N Rush St, 312-255-0022), is flavored with brown spices, almonds and a little rum. And at Nacional 27 (325 W Huron St, 312-664-2727), Seger serves a version spiked with yuzu, lemongrass, star anise and cardamom. If those combinations sound like overpowering mixers—well, most of the time they are. It takes the right kind of gin to stand up to Lacey’s version, and “in the ideal world,” he says, “I would have different tonics to go with different gins.” In the meantime, rethinking the drink may be in order—these aren’t gin and tonics so much as tonics and gin.

• More "Trending"
• More Restaurants & Bars articles