Gin and Tonic

Which brings us back to the ice. You might have noticed in your local kiosco the Argentine fondness for agua tonica...I certainly did today. On the 180 mile drive back, much ice and soda was purchased.

Among those floating in the cooler was Cunningham Indian Tonic...the best tonic water I have ever tasted. A bit too tonicy for use as a soft drink, in my opinion, but thank god for it's legion of fans here that have made it available for the use to which I have put it tonight.

Fresh limes are a staple in my fridge...so there was only to shower, shave and duck out to make myself poorer to the tune of 60 pesos the liter for some Tanqueray.

Goodnight...and this from the "beeb":

"History of Gin and Tonic

Gin and Tonics were -like Gin itself- originally developed as a medicine. In this case to help fight malaria. When the British were in the East they became susceptible to malaria and eventually found out that quinine (an ingredient in Tonic Water) was useful for getting rid of the disease. Well, as you would probably expect, drinking Tonic Water by itself is pretty nasty (unless you've acquired a taste for it) and they had problems getting the British in the East to drink it.

Along comes our friend Gin to be mixed with the Tonic Water, which not only made drinking it much more pleasant, but also created an excellent drink that would be remembered from then on, even if its relationship to the disease was forgotten. So, as you can see, Gin and Tonic Water came about due to medicinal reasons, then caught on later for thier more pleasurable aspects.

On a minor note, the Lime (served in any GOOD Gin and Tonic) being a citrus fruit (and therefore containing Vitamin C) helps to prevent scurvy. Usually the limes are not the dominant ingredient of Gin and Tonic, so they won't actually get rid of scurvy if you've already got it - unless you drink A LOT of Gin and Tonics of course."