late 17th century Spanish invaders in South America noted that the bark of the cinchona tree had medicinal qualities for a variety of tropical febrile illnesses.
the bark was brought back by the Spanish to Europe as both a remedy for and prevention of malaria.
19th century, British leaders recognized the power of quinine powder as an antimalarial, and due to their interest in conquering India, began importing the bark in massive quantities, supplying their soldiers in India with over 700 tons of cinchona bark annually.
the extracted quinine powder was effective, but very bitter, so it was soon made more palatable by mixing into drinks with soda and sugar
in 1858, the first commercial tonic water became available (patented by Erasmus Bond), subsequently, Schweppes introduced “Indian Quinine Tonic,” turning a medical necessity into a commercial profitability. The tonic water was soon added to gin to create gin and tonic.
Sir Winston Churchill even credited the gin and tonic with saving “more Englishmen’s lives, and minds, than all the doctors in the Empire.”
in the mid 20th century, gin and tonic even reached popularity as a “radioactive” party favorite, as it fluoresces with exposure to UV light.
independent of its antimalarial actions, it was also found to be effective at relieving muscle cramps, and was widely adopted by nephrologists to treat this painful condition associated with hemodialysis treatments.
reports of quinine-associated fatalities from thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP)-hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), renal failure, and torsades de pointes and other arrhythmias led the FDA to ban most forms of this medication in 2007