Okay, so I got myself into this weird little project, trying to list a drink for every letter of the alphabet. Seemed fun, you know? Like A for Apple Juice, B for Beer, C for Coke… easy peasy. Then I hit Q. Man, Q just stopped me dead in my tracks.
Seriously, I sat there staring at my list. Q. Blank space. My brain went completely empty. I thought, okay, maybe I’m just tired. Asked my partner, “Hey, name a drink that starts with Q.” She just gave me that look, you know, the one that says ‘why are you asking me weird stuff again?’ and said, “Queen’s Tears?” Yeah, real helpful.
So I did what everyone does, I started searching online. Typed in “beverage beginning with q”. Got a bunch of cocktail names, like Quaker Cocktail or Quarter Deck. But that felt like cheating, the drink itself wasn’t Q, just the fancy name someone made up. I wanted the actual liquid, the stuff you pour from a bottle or carton.
The Search Got Annoying
Honestly, it got frustrating fast. Lists kept suggesting stuff like “Quince Juice”. Okay, sounds vaguely drinkable, but where do you even buy that? Never seen it in my life. Then even weirder stuff popped up, like “Quandong Nectar”. Sounded like something from another planet. I wasn’t looking for some super rare Amazonian berry juice you have to order special, just a regular drink!
I almost gave up. Figured Q was just a dud letter for drinks. Like, maybe there just aren’t any common ones. My alphabet list was going to have this ugly gap. It bothered me more than it should have, probably.
Then Something Clicked
I was thinking about mixers, stuff you add to other drinks. Gin and Tonic popped into my head. Tonic… tonic water. What’s in tonic water? Quinine! Right? That’s the stuff that makes it bitter.
Quinine Water.
Okay, is that really a beverage on its own? People don’t usually just knock back glasses of tonic water, do they? But technically… it is a beverage. It’s water with quinine in it. And it starts with Q. Felt a bit like finding a loophole, but hey, it worked.
The Taste Test (Sort Of)
So I went to the corner store. Didn’t see anything labelled “Quinine Water”. Just the usual suspects: “Tonic Water”. Grabbed a bottle. Checked the ingredients, just to be sure. Yep, “contains quinine”. Good enough for me.
Got home, poured a small glass. No ice, no gin, no lime. Just straight tonic water. Took a sip.
- Bitter. Yep, definitely bitter.
- Bubbly, which was expected.
- Not exactly refreshing on its own.
Now I understand why people mix it! Drank the little bit I poured, just to say I did. It wasn’t horrible, but it wasn’t something I’d ever choose to drink straight again. Kind of medicinal, really.
So, that was my big Q beverage adventure. Ended not with a bang, but with a slightly bitter fizz. But you know what? I found one. My A-Z list was saved from the dreaded Q gap. Mission accomplished, sort of. Now, onto R… Rum! That’s an easy one, thank goodness.
