Cocktails: Rediscovering Dubonnet
In yesterday’s Washington Post, drinks writer Jason Wilson looks at one of the more neglected products in American bars: Dubonnet.
Typically lumped in with its close relative, vermouth, Dubonnet is one of the few remaining vestiges of a once dynamic style of aperitif wine known as quinquinas. With origins dating to the 1830s, quinquinas were developed as a palatable way to deliver a medical dose of quinine to malaria-plagued French colonials in North Africa (much the way that gin’s favorite quinine-tinted consort, tonic water, was developed to aid British colonials in their own tropical outposts). Flavored with an array of botanicals including cinnamon, citrus peel, coffee beans and, of course, the bitter quinine, Dubonnet once enjoyed great success throughout France, and was reportedly a favorite tipple of the Queen Mother (who, Wilson writes, packed Dubonnet and gin for an outdoor occasion), along with Queen Elizabeth II.
Thanks—if that’s the right word—to changing tastes, today’s Dubonnet has a greatly subdued bitterness in comparison with the old style, which had a more pronounced quinine bite. That’s too bad; classic cocktails that call for Dubonnet, such as the Ante or the Dubonnet Cocktail, are perfectly serviceable and even desirable; one can only imagine what they’d be with the extra spark of the vintage Dubonnet.
Despite its semi-obscurity, Dubonnet still has pockets of devoted fans. Are you one of them? How do you prefer to sip this venerable French aperitif?
About the author: Paul Clarke blogs about cocktails at The Cocktail Chronicles and writes regularly on spirits and cocktails for Imbibe magazine. He lives in Seattle, where he works as a writer and magazine editor.
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7 Comments:
Sounds dope
MrChow at 9:14PM on 01/07/09
A little known fact to Americans: Dubonnet in the states is made in Kentucky and is quite different than the product that the rest of the world (including Canada) receives (which is made in France). If you're close to the Canadian border, head on up and bring some "real" Dubonnet back with you. You won't regret it.
JamieB at 7:04AM on 01/08/09
Dubonnet. My first adult beverage. -Thanks Mom!
-Paulius,
VTR
paulius at 7:31AM on 01/08/09
My thanks to JamieB for drawing my attention to the origin of the Dubonnet which we buy in the U.S. I did not read the label closely until just now.
Afraid that a drive to Canada from Southern California is just not worth the
opportunity to buy the "real" stuff. My French born wife prefers her Dubonnet on two small rocks with a twist, as did her mother. I, myself do not care for it at all. Sante!
oldsalt at 11:08AM on 01/08/09
It's a marvelous thing. I have been drinking it for a very long time, both the Blonde and Rouge versions -- each have their own taste and charm, but the red version is the one that most people think of. Very close to Byrrh in character (another drink I like, by the way, though quite difficult to find).
Great on the rocks with a twist, or turned into a Louisiana Lullaby -- to my mind, the perfect cocktail for Easter.
Let us not forget Dorothy Michaels ordering a Dubbonet on the rocks with a twist at the Russian Tea Room in "Tootsie!"
Plowboy at 12:38PM on 01/08/09
I like to drink it... and one day I will learn how to spell its name. LOL
Plowboy at 1:07PM on 01/08/09
Lillet Rouge over ice with lemon...thanks, ex-girlfriend I wouldn't otherwise remember...
NotAmerican at 2:25PM on 01/08/09