Navas Tonic Water
Navas tonic water crafted from granite-filtered spring water and natural botanicals, delivering a crisp, dry, and expertly balanced citrus bitterness designed to elevate
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Featured Flavours
Alcohol %
0%
Serving Size
- 200ml
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In Cocktails
Navas Tonic Water
Navas Tonic Water is a premium, artisanal mixer born on the unspoiled riverbanks of the Helford River in Cornwall (specifically the village of Port Navas). Developed in close partnership with craft distillers, Navas was created with a specific philosophy: to complement and elevate high-quality spirits rather than masking them under a wave of artificial sugar or overpowering synthetic flavors.
Here is a detailed breakdown of what makes this Cornish mixer unique.
The Sensory Profile: What It Tastes Like
Aroma: On the nose, it is remarkably fresh and bright. You are greeted with clean citrus peel layered with the delicate, floral fragrance of neroli and the sophisticated, tea-like aroma of bergamot.
Taste: Wonderfully crisp and highly structured. It delivers an immediate wave of zesty citrus—blending red grapefruit, lemon, and bitter orange—which is immediately balanced by a robust, authentic bitterness.
Finish: Clean, dry, and refreshingly sharp. Because it uses natural sugars in precise amounts, it leaves a sparkling, crisp finish on the palate without any cloying, syrupy residue.
The Ingredients & Craft
Granite-Filtered Cornish Spring Water: This is the foundation of the drink. The local spring water provides an exceptionally clean, mineral-fresh mouthfeel that allows the nuances of your chosen spirit to shine.
Ecuadorian Cinchona Bark: Instead of relying entirely on heavily processed, clear quinine, Navas incorporates natural cinchona bark extract. This introduces subtle, woody undertones and a more complex, multi-layered bitterness.
100% Natural Botanicals: No artificial colorings, sweeteners, or preservatives are used, ensuring a clean and honest flavor profile.
The History of Navas Drinks
While Navas has quickly established itself as a staple in the premium mixer market, its history is relatively recent, rooted deeply in the rugged landscape of Cornwall.
The Spark of an Idea (2018)
The concept for Navas was born in the winter of 2018 inside a cozy pub in Mousehole, a historic fishing village in West Cornwall. The founders looked around at the booming craft gin movement and noticed a glaring contradiction: people were buying meticulously crafted, high-quality spirits, only to drown them in generic, overly sweet, mass-produced tonic waters.
They set out to change how people mixed drinks, committing to a simple philosophy: create a mixer that illuminates the spirit rather than masking it.
Perfecting the Blend & Launch (2019)
The team spent months collaborating directly with local Cornish distillers, conducting blind taste tests to perfect a recipe that balanced carbonation, natural quinine bitterness, and subtle citrus notes.
The Foundation: They anchored the recipe around local spring water naturally filtered through the granite of Bodmin Moor.
The Name: The brand officially launched in the summer of 2019. They named the company Navas after a beautiful, elemental creek on the Helford River (Port Navas), and designed their labeling to mimic the local coastal rock patterns.
Surviving the Storm (2020)
Just six months after their grand launch, the COVID-19 pandemic struck the UK, forcing the entire hospitality sector to shut down right at the start of the peak holiday season.
Despite being a brand-new startup in a locked-down world, Navas survived by leaning heavily into the independent retail market and regional bottle shops. Their reputation for quality spread through word-of-mouth among spirit enthusiasts.
Recognition and B-Corp Status (2021–Present)
As hospitality reopened, Navas grew rapidly to become the leading independent premium mixer brand in South West England. Their commitment to the region and the environment evolved into deep-rooted historical milestones:
Award-Winning Growth: By 2021 and 2022, the brand began sweeping up accolades, including multiple Gold Medals from Taste of the West and being named “Best Light Tonic” by The Independent.
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Sat in a cosy pub in Cornwall one Winter’s day in 2018, our founders pondered the absence of craft tonics compared with the ever-burgeoning range of craft gins that were on offer. Musing over the idea of Cornish Tonic Water, the seed of Navas was born..
Working at length with Cornish distillers, they tasked themselves to perfect a Tonic that enhanced botanicals without over-powering them. In reverence of the environment that living in that part of West Cornwall inspires, we knew the recipe needed to start with Cornish Spring Water.
With naturally filtered water (through the granite of Bodmin Moor) and an aim to have as many natural ingredients as possible, our journey led to a discussion with the nearby Eden Project to experiment with growing botanicals in their renowned biomes.
Navas drinks are proud to continue working with the Eden Project and are donating a percentage of every sale, directly to it’s mission.
