The standard version is very citrussy. You’d need a strong gin to stand up to it. No bubbles. I’d like some lemon. As for the “standard” tonics (rather than premium or diet), almost all are sweetened with a mixture of sugar and artificial sweetener, generally sucralose, aspartame, acesulfame K or saccharin. Not only are they cheaper than sugar, but they now avoid that sugar levy. On flavour grounds, this is often bad news. Sweeteners, particularly saccharin, can be bitter, and especially disgusting to the one in four of us who is very bitter-sensitive. Secondly, manufacturers tend to put too much in, so artificially sweetened drinks are often much sweeter than their sugar-sweetened counterparts. Not cheap, but nothing matches this highly flavoured tonic. With hints of lime, it’s great on its own, but is also enhanced by gin. Glass bottle looks premium. Flavour is marmalade-y and bittersweet, with no artificial sweeteners. Could do with more fizz but a great workhorse. Not enough fizz, quite citrussy. Can’t make up its mind whether it’s a soft drink or a tonic water. Not sweet, not bitter. Mild. Good for a subtle gin.

A flurry of supermarket and branded premium-priced versions followed, along with attention-grabbing flavourings – rhubarb, pomegranate, cucumber. At the other end of the scale, some low-price tonic waters also appear within budget ranges. “Lighter”, “diet” and “low calorie” options abound. Experts mostly agree that lighter premium tonics may be better with lighter, more floral, “modern” gin, while the old-fashioned Schweppes style suits juniper-heavy traditional gins.With “light” tonic waters it’s more complicated, especially if you want to avoid artificial sweeteners. Lidl’s glass bottles, as well as Fever-Tree and Aldi Ridge View, are the only widely available “light” tonic waters that I found which are artificial-sweetener free, using fructose instead, like the standard London Essence, so they are not very low in calories. In fact Lidl’s “light” tonic water has a higher calorie count than some of the standard tonics. Both fructose (“fruit sugar”) and artificial sweetener get a bad rap from the original NOVA classification (the benchmark for identifying ultra-processed foods), but I’d take the former over the latter, which appears in some other premium light tonic waters I looked at – Lidl Deluxe and Morrisons The Best. The acid-drops fragrance whets the appetite for this sharp, lemon-water flavoured tonic. Not very bubbly or complex, but a clean citrus taste and nice bitter balance, not sweet.

Good, instant fizz, almost sherberty. Delivers a nice dry bitterness; sweet without being overwhelming. Flavour is well rounded. According to Dr Chris Van Tulleken, in his new book Ultra-Processed People, artificial sweeteners may also contribute to weight gain. “A sweet taste in the mouth prepares the body for sugar. If that never arrives, it’s a problem,” he writes, adding that there’s evidence that they may actually decrease our insulin response (something seen in Type 2 diabetes) as well as damaging our gut bacteria. For reasons of hygiene and safety, personal grooming products, cosmetics or items of intimate clothing cannot be returned. Too sweet, almost syrupy. There’s a lingering bitter aftertaste – not in a nice, snappy way – and not enough other flavour. Quite bland, and not fizzy enough. This has a lemon-pitch bitterness but with a sweet aftertaste rather than the other way round. But low fizz.The standard iteration is fairly bitter in a good way, but there’s almost no bubbles – very low fizz. Dry, erring on the bitter, with no citrus. But it fails on the fizz.