First came winemakers, then craft brewers, then distillers - now there's a fizz in the number of small-scale start-up tonic technicians. Here are three great local producers and one top-notch foreign tonic for good measure. SOCKS TONICMade in Johannesburg by Pieter "Socks" Oosthuizen, this flavour-packed tonic is a favourite of bartenders in the know.Oosthuizen got his nickname by mismatching his socks and believes we're similarly indoctrinated when it comes to tonics. "Why do you wear the same socks? Because you've always done so."Tonic is no longer tonic water, it's all sweet with very little quinine. We make the tonic water using fresh orange juice and zest, fresh lemon juice and zest, all spice berries, grated nutmeg and citric acid."Order a Gin & Socks for a beautiful lemon start on the tip of your tongue. Next the orange will hug the back of your tongue.Available at select bars and Norman GoodFellows.SWAAN DRY CAPE TONICMaverick winemaker AD Badenhorst is known for shaking things up in the wine industry.With Swaan he's set his sights on cocktails. Why?He says: "We made Swaan tonic because we love gin and the other tonics available are kak ."With botanicals, quinine, fresh lime, cardamom and mint, Swaan is lighter in sugar and will pair very well with most gins.Make a ''local G&T" from Cruxland (infused with Kalahari truffles) and Swaan.See aabadenhorst.comFITCH & LEEDESMade in Stellenbosch but named after two London merchants who set off for the East Indies in search of fame and fortune, think of Fitch & Leedes as the locally made equivalent of a Schweppes tonic.It's the tasting room tonic of choice for inner-city Cape distillery Hope on Hopkins, which is enough of an endorsement for us.Available from yuppiechef.comFEVER TREE NATURAL TONIC WATERThe foreigner in this local crowd is massively popular overseas. Highest quality quinine is sourced from the Rwanda-Congo border and blended with spring water and eight botanical flavours. Pair the classic (premium Indian) tonic with Inverroche Verdant for a refreshing, summery G&T.See uke.co.zaDON'T WASTE YOUR TIMEWoolworths sugar-free tonic is a good way to ruin gin. Yes sugar is the Great Satan (outside of Iran) but when removed from a tonic it leaves a bitter, canned-air taste like a tube of tennis balls laced with mould.BITTER-ENDER?Instead of reaching for the Angostura bottle, tart up your G&T with a local take on bitters from Wellington master distiller Roger Jorgensen. His Afrodite range includes flavours like fynbos and grapefruit and artichoke.See jd7.co.za ..