Tonic Water and corn syrup??

And this uses....wait for it....sweetener! Dammit!

I was going to make a homemade soda for the kids the other day - tonic water and homemade prickly pear syrup that I picked from the cactus and washed and juiced and made with my own little thorn prickled hands. (Go, me! Another point for Yuppie House on the Prairie!)

My husband asks if I can have it, and I'm not sure, but he's already looking at the label to see and let's out a 'You've got to be kidding me.' Or something cooler and geekier, but essentially the same.

Turns out, our Tonic Water has corn syrup.

WTH? Seriously? How did I not know this had a sweetener of any kind? And it always has, far as I can tell.

Definition of Tonic Water: a carbonated beverage that derives its somewhat bitter taste from the addition of quinine. It is usually flavored with lemon or lime, lots of sugar, and often contains caffeine. (wisegeek.com)

Guess this is my 'learn something new everyday' moment. Just kind of blows my mind. So, what do the brands that we used to buy have as their sweetener? Corn syrup, of course. Sigh.

Canada Dry Tonic water: Carbonated Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Citric Acid, Sodium Benzoate (Preservative), Quinine, Natural Flavors.

Schweppes Tonic Water: Carbonated Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup and/or Sugar, Citric Acid, Natural Flavors, Sodium Benzoate (Preservative)Quinine.

This (more expensive, of course) Tonic water doesn't use corn syrup, however!
Q Tonic: Triple-purified water, Organic agave (sweetener), Peruvian quinine (hand-picked in
the Andes Mountains)[as opposed to elbow-picked like we poor schlubs usually get), Lemon juice extract [woo hoo, no citric acid!], Natural Flavors [Aaaaand, have to go and research the gluten and corn part again now. The fun never ends, LOL. I think I may just stick with the juice!]

But for those avoiding corn, beware with any of the mixed drink with tonic water, eh? Be safe!