To The Alcohol and Temperance History Group:
     I am a physician working in the field of tropical medicine, and was
referred to your group by Andrea Mitchell (Berkeley, CA). I have been
doing some research into the history of quinine, and this research has
led me to (among other places) India. It is often stated, without
documentation, that expatriates invented and drank gin and tonics in India
as a malaria preventive. Sparkling quinine tonic water appears to have
originated about 1859, the patent for this having been secured by Erasmus
Bond. However, quinine was considered to act as a "tonic" in small doses
(such as are found in tonic water), and it is not clear if this drink had
anything to do with malaria. At any rate I have been unable to find
information on the origin of the gin and tonic (through computer library
and data-base searches), and in particular its use in India in the 19th
century and its relation to health.
     I would be most apreciative if this inquiry could be disseminated to
your members, or alternatively if you could tell me how to do that myself.
And I would be very grateful for any leads or information your group could
share.
                                         Gordon Frierson MD
                                         Dept. of Medicine
                                         Univ of California Medical Cntr
                                         San Francisco
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