High on the Inca Trail in Peru, where the air thins and the forest grows low, stand the cinchona trees this tonic draws its bitterness from. The bark is picked by hand, and the number in the name records how high up it happens.
The expert's description
Seventeen 1724 Tonic Water CAN - Perfect for Gin and Tonic 20 cl is a Tonic Water made in Spain with quinine from the Andes in Peru and filled into cans of 20 cl.
The name 1724 is an altitude. The quinine bark is harvested at 1,724 metres along the Inca Trail, and that quinine gives a bitterness milder and more rounded than a classic Indian Tonic Water. The sweetness is clear and leans citrus, and the two meet in a tonic that is easy to drink and hard to mistake for anything else.
The bead is fine and lively, and because the quinine sits low, the gin is given more room than in a taut, bitter tonic. That suits Mediterranean-style gins built on olive, rosemary, thyme and citrus, and it suits floral gins whose blossom is otherwise easily covered. A juniper-heavy London Dry Gin also stands up well, though here the gin leads.
The can brings its own advantages. It chills faster than glass, it shuts out all light, and it travels in a bag without any risk of broken glass. One can equals one Gin and Tonic, so the carbonation is at full strength every time one is opened.
Tasting notes
Nose
Sweet citrus first, mandarin and a puff of lime, with a fine herbal tone underneath. The quinine registers only as a dry suggestion.
Palate
Softer than a classic Indian Tonic Water. Sweetness comes early, bitterness arrives late and never turns sharp, and the carbonation lifts without stinging.
Finish
Short, clean and citrus-led. The mild bitterness ebbs away quickly and leaves a trace of peel.
Specifications
Name: Seventeen 1724 Tonic Water CAN - Perfect for Gin and Tonic 20 cl
Producer: 1724 Tonic Water
Region/Country: Spain
Type: Tonic Water
Size: 20 CL
EAN no.: 5710754000908
Serving suggestion: Poured ice cold over large ice cubes in a balloon glass with a strip of orange peel
Flavour profile
Mild Bitterness · Sweet Citrus · Fresh · Light Carbonation
Did you know?
The large balloon glass used for Gin and Tonic comes from Spain, where the drink became a national discipline long before anyone else caught on. The shape holds plenty of ice and traps the aromatics, which is why Spanish tonics like this one are almost always shown in exactly that glass.
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