Franklin & Sons Grapefruit & Bergamot Tonic Water
Two bitter citrus over quinine, which makes this the most bitter-leaning tonic in the range. Bergamot is the Earl Grey citrus — grown almost entirely for its peel oil rather than for eating — and putting it beside grapefruit stacks aromatic bitterness on aromatic bitterness.
Quick Facts
Flavour Profile
Primary Flavours
Tasting Notes
Perfumed grapefruit on the nose with the bergamot giving it an Earl Grey lift, then a long bitter finish where three bitternesses arrive one after another.
Storage & Handling
Cool and sealed. Cold for service.
Usage
About 150ml over 50ml of a juniper-forward gin. It is also the tonic to reach for with an aperitivo bitter, where it extends the bitterness rather than diluting it.
What Bergamot Actually Is
A citrus fruit, probably a cross between a sour orange and a lemon, grown in commercial quantity almost solely along a short stretch of Calabrian coastline. It is too sour and too resinous to eat, and it is cultivated for the oil in its peel.
That oil goes into perfume and into tea. Earl Grey is simply black tea scented with it, which means most British drinkers know the flavour intimately without ever having identified the fruit.
Bitter On Bitter
Grapefruit brings pith bitterness. Bergamot brings a resinous, perfumed bitterness of a different kind. Quinine brings a third, cleaner and drier than either. They do not cancel out — they layer.
That makes this the least forgiving tonic on the shelf and the most rewarding if bitterness is what you are after. It is not a tonic to hand someone who says they do not much like tonic.
Beyond Gin
The more interesting use is with something already bitter. Campari, an amaro, or a bitter aperitivo lengthened with this stays bitter, where soda would simply make it weaker and a sweet mixer would fight it.
It is the same principle as pairing a savoury tonic with vermouth: match the register rather than trying to balance it, and the drink stays coherent at a long measure.
With gin, juniper is the right partner. Juniper is resinous and so is bergamot, and the two run together rather than in parallel.
When to Drink It
Before food. Bitterness stimulates appetite, which is the entire mechanism behind the aperitivo tradition, and a drink with three bitter elements does it emphatically.
After a large meal it is hard work. That is not a fault in the tonic, it is what bitterness is for.
Pro Tip
Serve it as an aperitif rather than late in the evening. Bitterness sharpens appetite and this has three sources of it at once, which is exactly right before a meal and heavy going after one.
Top Tips
- Try it with Campari or an amaro instead of gin. It lengthens a bitter without softening it.
- Grapefruit peel is the garnish. Expressed, then dropped in.
- If it is too much, this is the tonic that genuinely benefits from a shorter pour of spirit.
Possible Substitutions
- Franklin & Sons Pink Grapefruit Soda: the grapefruit without the quinine
- Indian tonic with a grapefruit twist: less bitter and much less aromatic
History & Context
Bergamot is grown commercially almost nowhere except a narrow strip of the Calabrian coast, where the climate suits a fruit too sour and resinous to eat. Its fame comes from perfume and from tea: Earl Grey is black tea scented with bergamot oil, and for most British drinkers that is the only place they have met it knowingly.
Common Questions
What does bergamot taste like?
Like Earl Grey, because that is bergamot oil on tea. Perfumed, resinous and sour, closer to a sour orange than a lemon. The fruit is too sharp to eat and is grown for its peel.
Is it very bitter?
The most bitter tonic in the range. Grapefruit pith, bergamot resin and quinine each bring a different bitterness and they layer rather than cancel. Excellent before food, hard work after it.
What else can I mix it with?
Campari or an amaro. It lengthens a bitter without softening it, which soda cannot do and a sweet mixer actively undoes.
Often Used With
Guide by Jerry Can Spirits