Wajos Botanical - Tonic Syrup. Juniper, lemongrass and quinine, tart and dry – the syrup that tastes like a gin and tonic when mixed with sparkling water, without the gin.

Wajos Botanical - Tonic Syrup is a syrup for making a quinine-containing refreshing beverage, made from sugar, natural juniper berry and lemongrass aromas, citric acid and quinine flavoring, 200 ml from Dohr on the Moselle. Not a non-alcoholic gin, not ready-to-drink tonic water, not a fruity syrup, but a tart concentrate with juniper that you top up yourself with sparkling water. Vegan, non-alcoholic.

Botanical - Tonic Syrup by Wajos solves the problem of the evening when everyone is drinking gin and tonics and one person has to drive. Non-alcoholic gin is expensive and often tastes of very little; straight tonic is just bitter. This syrup brings the juniper: a splash in a glass, cold sparkling water, ice, a slice of lemon – and you have something in your glass that smells like a gin and tonic, tastes tart, and yet has zero percent alcohol. In the summer, we keep the bottle next to the gin so that no one at the table is stuck with an apple spritzer while the others are having a toast.

Juniper forward, fresh lemongrass, bitter quinine finish

Undiluted, the syrup is thick and sweet; it only shows what it can do when mixed with sparkling water. Then the juniper comes first, resinous and dry just like in a gin, followed by the lemongrass with its green citrus note, and finally the bitterness of the quinine, which refreshes the palate. It is a tart syrup – dry rather than fruity or floral. Honestly: the flavor comes from natural aromas, and sugar is the primary ingredient, 94 grams per 100 milliliters, correspondingly diluted in the finished glass. It is not suitable for those who expect a sweet, fruity tonic – in that case, the Peach Elderflower & Lemon Tonic Syrup is the right bottle.

With sparkling water as a non-alcoholic gin and tonic, with gin as a double, in a cocktail

The standard preparation: a dash of syrup, cold sparkling water, plenty of ice, lemon or cucumber – start with a little, as it is concentrated. Those who add gin get a gin and tonic where the juniper is doubled: four centiliters of gin, syrup, sparkling water. Add a rosemary sprig and a grapefruit slice to make it look like a bar-quality drink. It also works as a tart spritz with dry sparkling wine instead of water. In the Wajos BBQ cocktail, it sits alongside the gin and a crema – our bar side uses it as an independent ingredient beyond just the mixer. The syrup is not suitable for coffee, desserts, or children's soda – juniper and quinine belong in an adult glass.

Our tip: Botanical Syrup, sparkling water, a sprig of rosemary, and ice for the driver – and the same glass with four centiliters of Botanical Gin for everyone else. Two glasses, one recipe.

From the house that started with liqueur and now also mixes non-alcoholic drinks

Behind Wajos is a family that comes from the wine industry: the Osters from Ediger-Eller, winemakers for 15 generations. Walter Josef Oster opened a liqueur manufactory in the 1980s; from the 2000s onwards, his son Peter Oster and Ulf Schwichtenberg turned it into the brand we know today in Dohr near Cochem on the Moselle, with over 80 employees, their own stores, and a laboratory that tests every batch. That non-alcoholic syrups should come out of a liqueur kitchen is the logical progression – mixed here in Dohr.

The bottle for drivers, gin lovers, and the home bar

The Botanical Syrup is for everyone who likes gin and tonics and prefers to drink them non-alcoholic on some evenings, for hosts who want to offer drivers something decent, and for amateur bartenders who want to intensify their gin and tonic. As a gift, it fits perfectly next to a bottle of Basil Smash Gin; all tonic syrups and gins can be found on our Wajos page. Store in a cool, dry, and dark place; 200 milliliters make about twenty glasses. It is not suitable for those who avoid quinine or for those who find juniper too tart – it is the key ingredient here.

Juniper, lemongrass, and quinine, topped up with sparkling water – the tonic syrup from the Moselle that ensures a gin and tonic is on the table for drivers, too.