Make Tonic Water In Your Instant Pot
So when I tell people I’ve made my own tonic water, their faces scrunch into a confused squinty expression and the words “why?” always follow. Well for one reason most store bought tonic waters are full of corn syrup and chemical flavors that are trying to emulate what real tonic water once tasted like. There are some craft tonic waters out there and I will in a pinch use them. However the real answer is: I make my own is because it tastes amazing.
I stated doing this years ago and way back then before the instant pot it was an all day process of cracking spices and slowly simmering them for hours. Now I just dump everything into one pot, hit start and in a matter of minutes I’m done. Because of the high heat and pressure all the wonderful botanical flavors are extracted with little effort or time. So why wouldn’t I make my own tonic water?
Tonic Water Ingredients
This homemade tonic is a little different than what you buy in cans at the store. This is more of an herbal concentrate and will need to be mixed with sparkling water and sometimes more sweetener will need to be added.
Homemade tonic water has all kinds of citrus and spices in the recipe. I always use grapefruit, lemon, lime, and spices like star anise, cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods, and other exotic spices. However what gives tonic water the signature flavor is Cinchona Bark which contains quinine. A little goes a long way so whatever you order of it can be kept and stored for making up batches of tonic whenever the mood strikes you.
How Long Will it Last?
Since we are essential making a tea here, or an infusion it will not last forever. I recommend storing it for 3-4 weeks. Remember it’s a concentrate added to your drink and then it’s topped with soda water for the light effervescent element you get in commercial tonic water.
The Best Gin and Tonic Recipe
Here’s my recipe for a killer Gin and Tonic.
Cucumber and rosemary muddles in the a shaker
Add:
2 oz gin
2 oz homemade tonic
1 oz lime
3/4 oz maple syrup
Stir drink. Stain into a rocks glass with ice. Top with soda water and garnish with a rosemary sprig.
Instant Pot Tonic Water
Notes
This recipe is adapted from David Lebovitz Recipe
I have been making this tonic water for years and years. I've scoured recipes and tweaked mine till I got the flavors I really loved. Herbs and spices can be added or omitted but this is flavor combination I like best.
I make my tonic less sweet because I can always add more honey or simple syrup to my drinks if needed, but I can't take the sweetness away so I keep it light on sugar.
This makes a tonic concentrate and sparkling water will need to be added to it.
This will keep for 2 months in the refrigerator. Do not leave it out. It will spoil and grow mold quickly.
Ingredients
- 1 quart water
- 2 grapefruit (juice and rind
- 1 orange (juice and rind)
- 1 lemon (juice and rind)
- 1 lime (juice and rind)
- 1 stalk of lemon grass chopped into 2-3 pieces
- 1/4 cup chinchona bark
- 10 allspice berries
- 10 cardamom pods
- 5 small star anise
- 2 inch piece of ginger
- 2 cinnamon sicks
- 10 juniper berries
- 1 teaspoon coarse sea or kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 5 kefir lime leaves
- 1-2 cup of honey (I like mine less sweet and add 1 cup)
Instructions
- Because we're making this in the Instant Pot it simply couldn't be easier. The heat and pressure from the pot will extract all the flavors and oils for the ingredients and in a matter of minutes you will have tonic water.
- First, fill your pot with 2 quarts of water. Then squeeze all the juice from your citrus and add it to your pot. Then add the rinds from your citrus to the pot. Next add all the other ingredients except the honey.
- Set the lid on it and cook under pressure for 5 minutes.
- Because we're cooking under pressure there's no need to break or crack the spices and heat and pressure will do all the work for you.
- Once it's done cooking, instantly release the pressure. As soon as you're comfortable handling the hot liquid, strain it through cheese cloth or a coffee filter into a larger jar. I use my mesh strainer and a coffee filter and strain it into a half gallon large mouth mason jar. At this point I let it cool a bit. I add my honey while it's still warm.
