Food - Drink
The Nutritional Difference Between Tonic Water And Club Soda
By JENNIFER SWEENIE
Club soda and tonic water are popular cocktail mixers that look practically identical to each other, but there are some drastic differences between these two bar staples. Both club soda and tonic water are types of carbonated water, but their specific ingredients affect their flavors and overall nutritional value.
Club soda is nothing but carbonated water with minerals added for a slightly salty, earthy flavor, and has an identical nutritional profile to plain water, save for extra sodium, calcium, potassium, and magnesium. Meanwhile, quinine is the ingredient that gives tonic water its bitter flavor, and sugar is often added to balance out the taste.
Given that sugar or corn syrup is added, twelve ounces of tonic water has 32 grams of sugar and 124 calories on average, while club soda contains no sugar and no calories. However, club soda has more sodium than tonic water, with 74 grams in a twelve-ounce bottle of club soda versus 44 grams for tonic water.