Echo du Mardi Gras - Publicité pour Dubonnet

Dubonnet (, , ) is a sweet, aromatised wine-based

quinquina Quinquina is an aromatised wine, a variety of apéritif. Traditionally quinquinas contain cinchona bark, which provides quinine. Quinine was used in treating malaria. Americano is considered either a subclass of quinquina, or a separate varie ...

, often enjoyed as an aperitif. It is a blend of

fortified wine Fortified wine is a wine to which a distilled spirit, usually brandy, has been added. In the course of some centuries, winemakers have developed many different styles of fortified wine, including port, sherry, madeira, Marsala, Comma ...

, herbs, and spices (including a small amount of

quinine Quinine is a medication used to treat malaria and babesiosis. This includes the treatment of malaria due to '' Plasmodium falciparum'' that is resistant to chloroquine when artesunate is not available. While sometimes used for nocturnal leg ...

), with

fermentation Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food p ...

being stopped by the addition of alcohol. It is currently produced in France by

Pernod Ricard Pernod Ricard () is a French company best known for its anise-flavoured pastis apéritifs Pernod Anise and Ricard Pastis (often referred to simply as ''Pernod'' or '' Ricard''). The world’s second-largest wine and spirits seller, it also pro ...

, and in the United States by

Heaven Hill Distilleries Heaven Hill Distilleries, Inc. is a private, American family-owned and operated distillery founded in 1935 and headquartered in Bardstown, Kentucky, that produces and markets the Heaven Hill brand of Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey and a variety ...

Bardstown, Kentucky Bardstown is a home rule-class city in Nelson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 11,700 in the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Nelson County. Bardstown is named for the pioneering Bard brothers. David Bard obtained a l ...

. The French made version is 14.8%

alcohol by volume Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol ( ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) ...

and the US version 19%. The beverage is famous in the UK for having been the favourite drink of Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states durin ...

and

Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was th ...

. In November 2021, Dubonnet was awarded a Royal Warrant by Queen Elizabeth II.

Ingredients

Four main ingredients are used: * Red Wine Base: distinct blend of grapes – Ruby Red, Ruby Cabernet and Muscat of Alexandria * Herbs and spices:

blackcurrant The blackcurrant (''Ribes nigrum''), also known as black currant or cassis, is a deciduous shrub in the family Grossulariaceae grown for its edible berries. It is native to temperate parts of central and northern Europe and northern Asia, whe ...

, essence of tea varietals, and other ingredients *

Cinchona ''Cinchona'' (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae containing at least 23 species of trees and shrubs. All are native to the tropical Andean forests of western South America. A few species are reportedly nat ...

bark: original medicinal ingredient derived from bark of the cinchona tree, produces a dry tannin note *

Cane sugar Sucrose, a disaccharide, is a sugar composed of glucose and fructose subunits. It is produced naturally in plants and is the main constituent of white sugar. It has the molecular formula . For human consumption, sucrose is extracted and ref ...

: 100%

cane sugar Sucrose, a disaccharide, is a sugar composed of glucose and fructose subunits. It is produced naturally in plants and is the main constituent of white sugar. It has the molecular formula . For human consumption, sucrose is extracted and ref ...

History

Dubonnet was first sold in 1846 by Joseph Dubonnet, in response to a competition run by the

French Government The Government of France ( French: ''Gouvernement français''), officially the Government of the French Republic (''Gouvernement de la République française'' ), exercises executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister, who ...

to find a way of persuading

French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (french: Légion étrangère) is a corps of the French Army which comprises several specialties: infantry, cavalry, engineers, airborne troops. It was created in 1831 to allow foreign nationals into the French Army ...

naires in

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

to drink

. Quinine combats

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. ...

but is very bitter. Ownership was taken over by

in 1976. It was re-popularised in the late 1970s by an advertising campaign starring Pia Zadora. It is available in Rouge, Blanc and Gold (

vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus '' Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the Mexican species, flat-leaved vanilla ('' V. planifolia''). Pollination is required to make the plants produce the fruit from whic ...

and orange) varieties. Dubonnet is also widely known by the advertisement slogan of the French

graphic designer A graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography, or motion graphics to create a piece of design. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, ...

Cassandre "Dubo, Dubon, Dubonnet" (a play on words roughly meaning "It's nice; it's good; it's Dubonnet"), which still can be found on the walls of houses in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The brand later became owned by

Heaven Hill Heaven Hill Distilleries, Inc. is a private, American family-owned and operated distillery founded in 1935 and headquartered in Bardstown, Kentucky, that produces and markets the Heaven Hill brand of Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey and a varie ...

. Dubonnet is commonly mixed with

lemonade Lemonade is a sweetened lemon-flavored beverage. There are varieties of lemonade found throughout the world. In North America and South Asia, cloudy still lemonade is the most common variety. There it is traditionally a homemade drink using ...

bitter lemon Bitter lemon is a bitter lemon flavoured soft drink. Its signature taste is a result of inherently bitter lemon pith being reinforced by the bitter alkaloid quinine. The principal difference between tonic water and bitter lemon is the lemon ...

, and forms part of many

cocktail A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink. Most commonly, cocktails are either a combination of spirits, or one or more spirits mixed with other ingredients such as tonic water, fruit juice, flavored syrup, or cream. Cocktails vary widely acr ...

s. Reputedly Dubonnet is a favourite beverage of: *

, who liked gin and Dubonnet: 30% gin, 70% Dubonnet with a slice of lemon under the ice. She once noted before a trip, "I think that I will take two small bottles of Dubonnet and gin with me this morning, in case it is needed." *

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

, who liked 66% Dubonnet and 33% gin with two cubes of ice and a lemon slice before lunch every day. *

Nelson Rockefeller Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979), sometimes referred to by his nickname Rocky, was an American businessman and politician who served as the 41st vice president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. A member of t ...

, whose taste for alcohol was moderate, would have an occasional glass of Dubonnet on the rocks.

Cocktails

The following include Dubonnet as one of their ingredients: * The Alfonso * Apple Dubonnet * Arnaud's Special (New Orleans) * Bartender * Bentley * Blackthorn Cocktail * Dot-Roy * Dubonnet Cassis * Dubonnet Cocktail * Dubonnet Daniella * Dubonnet Delight * Dubonnet Fizz * Dubonnet Helado * Dubonnet Highball * Dubonnet Kiss * Dubonnet Manhattan * Dubonnet Negroni * Dubonnet Royal * Dubonnet TT * Jack London Martini * Opera Cocktail * Phoebe Snow Playboy Host and Bar Book by Thomas Mario * Red Moonlight * Rum Dubonnet * San Diego Cocktail * Savoy Hotel Special * Trois Rivieres * Mummy Love * Marble Hill * Napoleon * Karl-Gerhard * Bossunova Belt * Magic Juice * The Queen Mother * The Mexican

References

External links

Dubonnet on the Pernod-Ricard website

The Dubonnet website
{{Alcoholic drinks Aromatised wine Pernod Ricard brands Products introduced in 1846

Ingredients

History

Cocktails

See also

References

External links