Dubonnet

Dubonnet poster

Dubonnet is a sweet, aromatised wine–based aperitif with 15% alcohol by volume.^[1] It is a blend of fortified wine, herbs, and spices (including a small amount of quinine),^[2] with fermentation being stopped by the addition of alcohol. The brand is currently produced in France, and in the USA by Heaven Hill Distilleries of Bardstown, Kentucky.^[1] The company says it is the "number-one selling aperitif brand in the United States".^[1]

History

Dubonnet was first sold in 1846 by Joseph Dubonnet, in response to a competition run by the French Government to find a way of persuading French Foreign Legionnaires in North Africa to drink quinine.^[2] Quinine combats malaria but is very bitter.

The brand ownership was taken over by Pernod Ricard in 1976. It was re-popularised in late 1970s by an advertising campaign starring Pia Zadora. It is available in Rouge, Blanc and Gold (vanilla and orange) varieties. Dubonnet is also widely known by the advertisement slogan of the French graphic designer Cassandre "Dubo, Dubon, Dubonnet" (roughly a play on "It's nice; it's good; it's Dubonnet"), which still can be found on walls of houses in France. The brand later became owned by Heaven Hill.^[1]

Dubonnet has been said to be similar to Buckfast Tonic Wine.^[3]

Dubonnet is commonly mixed with lemonade or bitter lemon, and forms part of many cocktails.

Reputedly Dubonnet is a favourite beverage of:

• Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, 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."^[4][5]
• Queen Elizabeth II, who likes two-parts Dubonnet and one-part gin with two cubes of ice and a lemon slice before lunch every day.^[6]
• Nelson Rockefeller, whose taste for alcohol was moderate, would have an occasional glass of Dubonnet on the rocks.^[7]

References in popular culture

• In the 1946 film, I Know Where I'm Going, the main character, Joan Webster (Wendy Hiller), is served her drink in a very fashionable nightclub by the waiter, who says, "Here's your usual, Miss Webster." Her very conservative banker father, with surprise, inquires, "Your usual?" Joan replies, "Yes, gin and Dubonnie!"
• In Sylvia Plath's 1963 novel The Bell Jar, the character Buddy Willard buys Dubonnet to show that "he could be aesthetic in spite of being a medical student."
• Dubonnet is mentioned in the Lou Reed song "Berlin" (on the 1971 album Lou Reed and the 1973 album Berlin): "In Berlin, by the wall / you were five foot ten inches tall / It was very nice / candlelight and Dubonnet on ice".
• Katie Morosky (Barbra Streisand) drinks "Dubonnet over ice" in the movie The Way We Were (1973).^[8]
• In the movie Tootsie (1982), the main character as "Dorothy Michaels" (Dustin Hoffman) orders a "Dubonnet with a twist" while dining at The Russian Tea Room.
• Dubonnet is the favorite beverage of Hetty Wainthropp (self-made private investigator) of the BBC series Hetty Wainthropp Investigates (1996-1998).
• In the second season of the TV series Mad Men, Bobbie Barrett orders a "Dubonnet with a twist" at Lutèce.
• Dubonnet and bitter lemon is Mary Tayor of Coronation Street's regular tipple, or so she tells love interest Brendan in January 2016.
• The Queen of England likes to have her pre-lunch gin and Dubonnet in front of BBC Two's The Daily Politics.^[9]

Cocktails

The following include Dubonnet as one of their ingredients:

See also

• Gin and tonic, another drink invented to encourage European colonial soldiers in tropical climates to take quinine.

References

Pernod Ricard Acquisitions Aberlour (1974) Dubonnet (1976) Irish Distillers (1988) Orlando Wines (1989) Wyndham Estate (1990) Seagram (2000) Allied Domecq (2005) Vin & Sprit (2008) Lillet (2008) Plymouth Gin Distillery (2008) Subsidiaries Aberlour Corby Distilleries1 Orlando Wines Pernod Ricard NZ Premium Wine Brands Scapa V&S Group Spirits brands Vodka Absolut Explorer Frïs Level Luksusowa Polar Ice2 Renat Wyborowa Żubrówka3 Huzzar Orloff Whisky Blended Scotch: Ballantine's Clan Campbell Chivas Royal Salute 100 Pipers Imperial Long John Passport Something Special Single malt Scotch: Aberlour The Glenlivet Longmorn Scapa Strathisla Tormore Irish whiskey: Crested Ten Green Spot Jameson Midleton Very Rare Paddy Whiskey Powers Redbreast Bourbon: Four Roses3 Canadian whisky: Wiser's2 Indian whiskey: Blenders Pride Royal Stag Imperial Blue Other: Doble V Dunbar Natu Nobilis Gin Beefeater Cork Dry Gin Plymouth Gin Seagram's Gin Liqueurs Hiram Walker Kahlúa Lemond Malibu Cusenier Dita Lochan Ora Ruavieja Soho Tequila & Cachaça Olmeca Janeiro Sao Francisco Viuda de Romero Anis Ouzo Mini Pastis 51 Pernod Ricard Pastis Pacific Cognac & Brandy Ararat Macieira Martell Añejo Los Reyes Azteco De Oro Brandy Domecq Don Pedro Presidente Rum Havana Club Lamb's Navy Rum Bitters Becherovka Gammeldansk Suze Amaro Ramazzotti Fernet Capri Wine brands Wine Jacob's Creek Montana Wines West Coast Cooler Wyndham Estate Brancott Estate Campo Viejo Domecq Graffigna Kenwood Long Mountain Old Tbilisi Apéritifs & Fortifieds Becherovka Byrrh Dubonnet Lillet Ambassadeur Bartissol Champagne G. H. Mumm Perrier-Jouët People Paul Ricard Patrick Ricard Jean Hémard Ariste Hémard Henri Louis Pernod Jules-François Pernod Jules-Félix Pernod 1 As of 2008, the company is 46% owned by Pernod Ricard.  2 Via Corby.  3 Distributed brand.   Category •   Liquor portal

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