tonic waterTonic water (or Indian tonic water) is a fizzy soft drink flavoured with quinine. The drink gains its name from the medicinal effects of this slightly bitter flavouring.
The quinine was added to the drink as a prophylactic against malaria, since it was originally intended for consumption in tropical areas of India and Africa where that disease is endemic.
Tonic water originally contained only carbonated water and quinine, and it contained a large amount of the latter. However, most tonic water today contains a medically insignificant amount of quinine, and is thus used for its flavor only. It is consequently less bitter, and is also usually sweetened. Some manufacturers also produce diet tonic water.
Tonic water is often used as a mixer for alcoholic spirits, especially gin (the mixture commonly known as a gin and tonic).
Tonic water with lemon or lime flavor added is known as bitter lemon or bitter lime, respectively. Such soft drinks are more popular in Europe than in the United States.
Tonic water will glow under ultraviolet light, due to the quinine in it.
Brands of tonic water:
文字
tonic water,奎寧水,現在廣叫湯利水
Generic terms for carbonated soft drinks vary widely in the United States. Probably the two most common words competing for precedence are soda, used in the northeast United States, and pop, used from the Midwest westward. In the South all soft drinks, regardless of the flavor or brand name, are referred to as cold drinks. Speakers in Boston and its environs have a term of their own: tonic. Such a variety of regional equivalents is unusual for a product for which advertising is so aggressive and universal; usually advertising has the effect of squeezing out regional variants. On the other hand, because there are so many types and flavors of soft drinks, perhaps no single generic word has ever emerged to challenge the regionalisms.
在美國，含碳軟飲料的名稱各地截然不同。其中有兩個詞正競爭著統治地位，一個是用於美國東北部的soda, ， 另一個是用於中西部以西的pop 。 在美國南部，所有的軟飲料，不管味道或品牌如何，都統統叫作cold drinks 。 波士頓及其周圍地區有其自己的名稱：tonic 。 對於一種廣告做得滿天飛的產品來說，這種各地區名字不同的情況十分不尋常；因為廣告通常有減弱方言的作用。另一方面，由於軟飲料有如此多的種類和風格，所以可能還沒有哪一個泛稱能夠取代這么多地方變體
剛果金常見的tonic飲料tonic飲料中含有奎寧，在非洲地區經常被作為防瘧飲品。奎寧是治療瘧疾的藥物（但是會傷及內臟）。感覺身體不適或有瘧疾前兆時可以飲用tonic，有預防瘧疾的功效，但胃不好的人應當謹慎飲用。圖片為剛果金的tonic飲料。
