Tonic is casting gin aside for a new bedfellow, as Fever-Tree teams up with Patrón to create the first tonic specifically designed to be mixed with tequila.

The development of Fever-Tree Citrus Tonic Water saw the soft-drinks company travel to tequila’s home country of Mexico to source ingredients to complement Patrón tequila and balance its sweet, peppery notes.

Fever-Tree journeyed to Colima and Michoacan in search of Key and Tahitian limes, Vera Cruz for tangerines, and Yucatán for what it describes as the ‘the perfect bitter orange’ to sit with its signature quinine.

From today, Fever-Tree Citrus Tonic Water will be available in bars and restaurants across the UK, including Dandelyan, Quo Vadis and Sketch in London, Hedonist in Leeds, HMSS in Bristol and the The Edgbaston in Birmingham.

Both Fever-Tree and Patrón are touting tequila and tonic as the ‘new, refreshing, long tequila serve’.

The product launch comes on the heels of the UK final of Patrón’s annual cocktail competition: earlier in the week, Nicole Sykes of Satan’s Whiskers in Bethnal Green, east London, was crowned UK champion of the Patrón Perfectionists 2018. Her winning drink was inspired by the Paloma, one of Mexico’s most popular cocktails. It combined Patrón Silver tequila, Martini Riserva Speciale Ambrato, pickled dry crab apple reduction and coriander seed soda, all finished with a lime zest spray.

‘The Patrón Perfectionists cocktail competition represents a wonderful opportunity, allowing us to maximise global talent,’ said Matthew Sykes, director of international marketing at Patrón. ‘It features bartenders from some of the best bars in the world. They understand the lengths we go to in creating a simply perfect tequila, which can now be matched with Fever-Tree Citrus Tonic Water.’