It’s not beer, but I recently received samples of tonic sodas and mixers from Top Note Tonic, several of which recently won awards in specialty competitions. Several flavors were included in the shipment: the Classic Tonic Water, Grapefruit soda, Bitter Lemon soda, and Indian Tonic Water.

These are small(ish) bottles, 8.5 fluid ounces, and I’m going to take a look at the company’s recipes for ideas on how to prepare and review them; I don’t have a lot of experience in tonics and mixers, so this will be an interesting experimental set of notes that will be coming up.

Introductory press release, with awards details:

Top Note Tonic, the inventive makers behind the most award-winning lineup of American-made mixers, has made unprecedented waves in national beverage competitions this Spring for its exceptionally delicious lineup of non-alcoholic tonics and sparkling sodas. Its Classic Tonic Water has earned back-to-back Double Golds by two of the industry’s most rigorous awards this month.

The Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America’s Tasting Competition awarded Top Note’s Classic Tonic Water a Double Gold and Best of Show in the Non-alcoholic Ready-to-Drink category on April 2. The judging for WSWA’s competition is led by two of the most widely trusted publications in beverages, The Tasting Panel Magazine and The Somm Journal, making this one of the industry’s most coveted awards.

Announced yesterday, the San Francisco Ready-to-Drink Competition also awarded Top Note’s Classic Tonic Water with a Double Gold Medal. Top Note Tonic’s Bitter Lemon and Sparkling Grapefruit Soda earned Gold Medals at the competition as well. With a judging panel featuring the industry’s most active and knowledgeable experts and more than 5,000 annual entries, The Tasting Alliance’s blind tasting competitions are considered the most influential awards of the season and the highest authority in the beverage category today.

“It’s such an honor that we continue to be recognized as the leading crafter of non-alcoholic mixers and sodas, especially by the caliber of industry professionals who are a part of the selection process for these two competitions,” says Top Note Tonic Co-founder Mary Pellettieri.

Pellettieri, who wrote the book on quality for the Brewers Association and has been a respected beverage expert for decades, takes a hands-on approach to recipe development and quality management at Top Note. Every delicious beverage begins with a small-scale pilot sized batch in a research kitchen, where Top Note’s co-founders taste the developing recipes up to 100 times before they are approved.

“Through a lot of trial and error in our own research kitchen, we have made beverages that pair well with alcohol but also are delicious enough to stand alone. We work hard to craft incredible beverages that happen to also mix well with multiple products” says Pellettieri. “It is not an easy feat, but worth the results. We like to think Top Note’s beverages are an insider’s secret to making exceptional cocktails.”

Top Note’s Classic Tonic Water, the most award-winning tonic water of the industry, has been named “Best Craft Tonic Water” by Liquor.com for three consecutive years. Featuring all natural bitters of quinine, notes of lime zest, and real cane sugar, the Classic Tonic Water has fewer calories than commercial tonics and is the most delicious option on the market.

Top Note’s Sparkling Grapefruit Soda is made with all-natural cane sugar to balance the tart, fresh citrus flavor of 15% real grapefruit juice and high-quality grapefruit peel extract. Top Note earned a gold medal and 92 points at the 2023 Beverage Testing Institute World Spirits Championships for its Sparkling Grapefruit Soda this March.

Top Note Tonic is available to ship online nationwide and can be found on shelves in 11 states. Order Top Note’s gold medal winning mixers online at topnotetonic.com.

About Top Note Tonic

Top Note Tonic has invented the most complex and layered beverage mixers on the market. Co-founded by Mary Pellettieri, who has more than 20 years of experience working in craft beer quality, Top Note’s lineup of award-winning mixers not surprisingly feature unique botanicals, unexpected ingredients, and beautiful flavors that complement the best spirits in the market. Top Note allows consumers to create with confidence and discover complex, but not complicated, cocktails and alcohol-free mixed drinks.

The entire Top Note product lineup, including, Club Soda No 1, Ginger Beer, Classic Tonic Water, Grapefruit soda, Bitter Lemon Tonic and the award-winning Indian Tonic Water, are available online at topnotetonic.com.