Dubonnet Cocktail

The Dubonnet Cocktail is to the French as the gin and tonic is to the British--both are delicious and have the added benefit of being an antimalarial. As gin made tonic a more palatable means of imbibing quinine for citizens of the British Empire, Dubonnet, a fortified wine, made quinine more palatable for French Foreign Legionnaire troops stationed in North Africa in the mid-19th Century.

I'm not sure what it is about quinine fortified beverages, but they do catch on. The Dubonnet Cocktail was also a favorite of the Queen Mother--rumor has it that she had one or two everyday before lunch (she preferred 70% Dubonnet to 30% gin with a slice of lemon tucked under the ice). In fact, the Queen Mum is so closely associated with the cocktail that the Dubonnet Cocktail is also sometimes called the Queen Mother Cocktail.

We chose to make the recipe that is featured in The Savoy Cocktail Book--the ratio of gin to Dubonnet is an easy 1:1 and we added a slice of lemon as well. I think the drink would also be delicious with a little orange bitters as well. The overall flavor is sweet and slightly astringent. We used a neutral tasting gin, Plymouth, since the Dubonnet is a pretty overpowering flavor. I figured there's no sense in having a gin attempting to compete with the favors of the Dubonnet; rather, I think a gin that gets along well with others is a better choice. Also, I would encourage the use of a lemon since the acid sort of cuts through the sweet and floral notes in the Dubonnet.

Also, I have to point out that I love the advertising associated with Dubonnet. There are a variety of posters, but I like this one the best:

Of course, I'm totally taken with the cat featured on the label and in much of the advertising as well.

Okay, here's the recipe!

Dubonnet Cocktail

1 oz. Dubonnet

1 oz. gin (we used Plymouth)
Slice of lemon

Pour the Dubonnet and the gin in a pitcher filled with ice, stir for about 30 seconds. Stain into coupe glasses and garnish with a slice of lemon.