Dubonnet Cocktail: Drink Like the Queen Mother

1. Pour the ingredients into a mixing glass with ice cubes.
2. Stir well.
3. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
4. Garnish with the lemon twist.

If you were to switch the proportions of the two ingredients and use 2 parts Dubonnet to 1 part gin, you would have a cocktail called the Queen Mother. It is another tribute to the Royal Family.

How Strong Is the Dubonnet Cocktail?

Notice that the Dubonnet Cocktail is a very small drink.

After stirring, you will only have about 2 1/2 ounces to pour into your glass. It was designed that way because it is a potent little beverage, weighing in at around 29 percent ABV (58 proof).

Aperitifs of this strength are typically short because you don't want to be tipsy before the first course arrives. Besides, it's likely this won't be your last drink of the meal.

What Is Dubonnet?

Dubonnet is a brand name for a very specific aperitif wine that originated in France. It was created in 1846 by Joseph Dubonnet, a chemist and wine merchant from Paris.

Dubonnet designed his fortified wine to help make quinine more palatable to French soldiers battling malaria in North Africa. The result was Dubonnet Rouge, which is "a proprietary blend of herbs, spices, and peels."​

Fun Fact: Quinine is also the key ingredient in tonic water, which was also created to fight off disease. Quinine brings in the bitter, dry taste present in both tonic and Dubonnet.

Dubonnet comes in two varieties and Dubonnet Rouge is the more common of the two. It has a red wine base and is rich and semi-sweet. Some drinkers find notes of orange, nuts, chocolate, and coffee in the taste. Dubonnet Blanc is similar to dry vermouth and is the drier of the two. It is made with a white wine base.

Either Dubonnet can be served on its own when well-chilled or as a spritzer when topped with sparkling water or club soda. You can also use them in any cocktail that calls for vermouth.

• Produced and bottled in the United States.
• A product of Heaven Hill Brands.

• 19 percent alcohol by volume (38 proof).