The combination of refreshing lemon taste and bitter quinine make Schweppes Bitter Lemon a drinking experience like no other. Many other cocktails also use Schweppes Bitter Lemon for that certain refreshment. Quinine was first used in the British India as a preventive measure against malaria. As a consequence, Schweppes Indian Tonic was born in 1870’s, and Bitter Lemon later in 1950’s. The amount of quinine in today’s Indian Tonic or Bitter Lemon is too small to have any medicinal effect.