Fluorescing Gin & Tonic

Tonic water contains quinine, a fluorescent alkaloid. Put some in the path of a UV light, and you'll see a beautiful bright blue beam. You can create fantastic effects in a gin & tonic with a UV keychain flashlight - serve some up at your next party, or just take along the flashlight next time you go out, and order a G&T (you'll soon find out if you've been served a gin & soda instead - it won't work!).

Note: you'll see this effect any time you have a tonic-containing drink under a blacklight. See How to Make Edible Glowing UV Reactive JELLO, for example.

You'll need: Gin ~ tonic water ~ lime ~ ice ~ UV LED keychain flashlights

I bought the flashlights from DX as "UV Money Detector LED Flashlight Keychain 10-Pack" for $5.24. Allow a couple of weeks for them to show up. You can buy them at the dollar store, too.

Add ice to a clear, pattern-free glass. Add gin & tonic in about a 1:6 ratio (they're usually stronger, but here you want good volume and plenty of quinine for best effect). Garnish with a slice of lime. Make one for each guest. Note: a virgin (no gin) version might need some Sprite or similar to sweeten it up a bit for that crowd. 

Give one to each guest along with the UV LED. Once everyone's set up, switch off the lights. They'll figure out what to do next :)

Enjoy! Video shows what you can expect. You'll get 99% of the effects in the first 30 seconds, so no need to watch the whole thing.


I skipped the lime and ice for this demo. The ice causes condensation on the glass makes the picture a little fuzzy, at least on screen. However, don't skip it when you try it - you get additional effects shining the light down through the ice.

If you liked this drink, you might enjoy The Color-Changing Martini.
Other drinks involving tonic water and blacklights can be found in the ebook Shocktails.