The Liquid Muse

Celebrity Sips – Drink Like The Queen of England

While watching the recent TV special on England’s Royal Family, I made a mental note that the Queen’s favorite cocktail is gin and Dubonnet. This thrilled me to no end because I had recently bought a bottle of Dubonnet.

My mom, who is English, sipped a glass of it nearly every evening while making dinner, while I was growing up. So, when I saw it on the shelf at BevMo, a little shiver of nostalgia got the best of me, and I decided to take some home. Dubonnet is not expensive or one of those ‘trendy’ drinks every bar is slapping on its menu --- which is actually one more reason to like it, in my opinion. But for some reason, I still felt almost a little defensive placing it in my shopping cart.

Created by Joseph Dubonnet, the fortified wine was intended to help the French Foreign Legion drink down their malaria medicine. Like the gin-and-tonic drunk by the English brigade in India, this health aid soon became a popular drink. Like Campari, Dubonnet is more commonly enjoyed in Europe than the States --- again, one more reason to imbibe. (“Trendy” is not always better…)

You can leave your imprint on history by submitting your own Dubonnet cocktail to www.doyoudubonnet.com. After all, if its good enough for Her Majesty, what are you holding out for?