Quinine Syrup
Description
Makes 28 ounces (830 milliliters), with enough tincture left over for 2 more batches
Ingredients
6 grams powdered cinchona bark (red will be more assertive, yellow is milder and less bitter)
150 milliliters vodka
20 grams citric acid
10 grams whole gentian root
2 grams Ceylon soft-stick cinnamon, broken by hand into small pieces
30 grams lemon peel, peeled with a vegetable peeler
30 grams grapefruit peel, peeled with a vegetable peeler
400 grams sugar
500 milliliters water
Method
To make the tincture: Dissolve the powdered cinchona bark in the vodka. Mix well, and then strain through a paper coffee filter fitted into a strainer (or a filter cone, if you have one) and suspend over a large enough container to accommodate the final volume of vodka. This process could take up to 1 hour, so don't worry if it seems like nothing is happening. (The tincture lasts forever.)
To make the aromatics: Combine all the ingredients for the aromatics in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat just until boiling, reduce the heat to low, and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Strain out the solids and let the liquid cool.
Stir 1 1/2 ounces (45 milliliters) of the quinine tincture into the cooled aromatics, and then bottle. Seal tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Mix 1 part quinine syrup to 3 -10 parts soda water. Or mix 1 part quinine syrup to 3 parts still water and carbonate using a carbonator. And then make yourself a gin and tonic.