Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/72473
the various gingers produce aromas and fl avor notes that are distinct and original. But how do you even begin to fi nd these sources? "We've had a lot of help, and some of it has been from people that you would call 'plant hunters,'" Rolls says. "These are guys who have spent their lives and, unfortunately in some cases, given up their families, going around the world looking for the fi nest ingredients." The response has been phenomenal, although Rolls is modest again. "Let's face it, we're tiny," he says. "We're going to be a $30 million business this year, but I guess in seven years, that's not too bad." It's not too bad to be in 38 coun- tries already, too. Some bars and restaurants think so highly of the mixers that they serve them separately, in their own glasses, so that customers can make highballs to their own specifi cations. One of the most prestigious restaurants in the world, Spain's El Bulli, and its renowned chef, Ferran Adrià, turned the tonic into a course of its own: sopa de Fever-Tree tonica. "We fundamentally believe that the Charles Rolls and Tim Warrillow, co-founders of Fever-Tree. "I left it to Tim to do that," Rolls says somewhat ruefully. He's speaking of Tim Warrillow, the co-founder of Fever-Tree, and the person who offered to go to source Fever-Tree's quinine. ("Fever tree" is the colloquial term for the cinchona tree.) Rolls wanted no part of the job: 20 years earlier, when Rolls was still a min- ing engineer, he had contracted malaria in Congo. And even though quinine has been used as an anti-malarial agent for centuries, he left it to Warrillow to bring home the good stuff. Warrillow takes up the story from there. "I guess ignorance is bliss," Tim says as he recalls the trip. "I hadn't quite appreciated what a lawless place it is." He was speaking of the border region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, which, he says, "makes Rwanda look like the south of France." "I had my money rolled up in my sock; I had no idea what to expect." As he and his taxi driver made their way across the countryside, armed combatants would set up roadblocks, looking for payoffs. Sometimes there would only be a string across the road to block their progress, but sometimes there would be nail-studded wooden planks. At one roadblock, "there were guys wearing AK-47s, there was a rocket launcher . . ." His voice trails off as he remembers the menace. "But it was really beautiful." A terrible beauty, indeed. Warrillow eventually found the high-quality quinine he was looking for, at a plantation that was still prospering. "Even the warlords realize the impor- tance of quinine," he says. In a nation where thousands die of malaria every year, "they use it themselves." The ingredients for Fever-Tree's other mixers come from less-dangerous places, but no less exotic. The ginger for Fever-Tree's ginger beer and ginger ale comes from three different places—fresh green ginger from the Ivory Coast, intense and complex ginger from Nigeria and earthy, chocolate-y ginger from Cochin, India. Combined, fl avor is so important," Warrillow says. "We are proud and grateful that the trade community has supported us. The bartenders and mixologists, and the chefs. They understand the importance of creating fantastic ingredients." Fever- Tree products are notable for what they have, and for what they don't—there are no added sweeteners, cheap aromatics or preservatives. For Rolls, success is centered on the cultivation of the brand. "I defi nitely found my natural home when I got into the world of brands," Rolls says. And what is this world of brands? "Fundamentally, it comes down to the ingredients—the things you are going to put into the product. Of course there's the packaging, and everything that goes around it, but I believe that a great brand comes about because of the attri- butes that the consumers attach to them. I fi nd it so fascinating and so rewarding, and I think that's what consumers are latching onto." Fever-Tree's line of products cur- rently available in the United States includes Ginger Ale, Bitter Lemon, Mediterranean Tonic, Ginger Beer, Tonic Water, Light Tonic and Club Soda. Fever-Tree is available in some of the fi nest restaurants, bars and retailers nationwide. See www.fever-tree.com for more information. july 2012 / the tasting panel / 7 PHOTO: COURTESY OF FEVER -TREE