Yes, The Mixer Matters....

I've been reading about "boutique" mixers like Fever-Tree and Q for awhile, but had never tried them. A couple of weeks ago, in a quest for tonic water for the other half's evening cocktail and trying to avoid the parking and traffic hassle at our neighborhood Kroger, I ducked into the more convenient Whole Foods instead. They didn't have the traditional half-liter or bigger bottles of our standby Schweppes or Canada Dry (or even worse, generic...shhhhh.). Instead, I paid four times the single bottle price for a four pack of tiny little glass bottles of Fever-Tree...cursing under my breath all the way.

He used one of the bottles that night, but the others have been sitting on the bar like the tiny little Holy Grails they are. Last week, spurred on by mention in the day's Dallas Morning News and a promotional e-mail from our local liquor purveyor, I decided to do a comparative tasting. Treating it just like I would wine, I poured a bit of Fever-Tree and Canada Dry in two sherry copitas to evaluate.

One the nose, the Canada Dry smelled like Sprite, sweetly (in almost a cloying way) citrusy. The Fever-Tree had a cleaner aroma. Almost salty with a nice undertone of TRUE (think zest) lemon.

Taste? No comparison. The Canada Dry let its high fructose corn syrup shine through. And was bitter, but unpleasantly so. The Fever-Tree was fan-tas-tic. Bitter, but cleanly so. And much more naturally sweet thanks to its cane sugar.

Same thing when mixed with Bombay Sapphire. The Fever-Tree highlighted and complemented the gin. The Canada Dry...well, you get the idea.

I don't know whether to be excited or crushed. A simple gin and tonic was more than delicious with the Fever-Tree. But it's so much more expensive. I guess you DO get what you pay for.