Sanpellegrino is perhaps best known for their mineral waters; however, in the last few years they’ve gotten into tonic water as well. Sanpellegrino Tonica Citrus is sweetened with sugar and has citrus natural flavors added. The tonic water is restrained with its sweetening— 50 calories for 200 mL of tonic.
Tasting Notes
Rather intense with a vibrant orange and yuzu aroma on the nose.
Sipped, there’s a clean effervescence, primarily centered early on the palate. It comes early and largely fades by the finish.
On its own, Sanpellegrino Tonica Citrus is particularly tart with an almost astringent, puckering citrus character. Tart with citric acid mouthfeel, the flavor steers towards broiled white grapefruit with pith and rind.
The finish is clean with a mild quinine flavor. While the sweetness is present, the tart citrus notes generally overpower it. Sanpellegrino Tonica Citrus tastes less sweet (on its own) than it is in terms of sweetening in it.
Gin and Tonic
Similar to their other tonic water offerings, I find that this tonic does a nice job of letting the spirit it mixes with— shine through. In this case the herbal and jammy notes of Lloyd Distillery’s Bixby Gin shine through.
The quinine is mild, the sweetness is restrained; however, some of that intense citric acid note comes through. It comes across as more sour than it is flavor wise.
Overall, Sanpellegrino Tonica Citrus
While I commend the overall balance of the tonic water’s components like sweetness and bitterness; the approach to the sour character is a bit out of balance.
In a crowded a market space like citrus-flavored tonics, a point of difference can help you stand out— or can leave you coming up short.
In this case, it comes up on the latter side.
Sanpellegrino Tonica Citrus is available from Amazon.