Wine · Paris (origin; production varies by market)
Dubonnet
A classic French wine aperitif born from a quinine challenge in 1846.
- Founded
- 1846
- Founded by
- Joseph Dubonnet
- Based in
- Paris (origin; production varies by market)
Making it since
1846
Their story
Dubonnet dates to 1846, when Joseph Dubonnet created it in France. The French government had launched a competition to find a way to get Foreign Legion soldiers in North Africa to take quinine, a malaria treatment that tastes very bitter. His answer was a sweet, spiced wine that made the medicine easier to swallow.
Pernod Ricard took over the brand in 1976 and still makes the French version. In the United States, Dubonnet is now owned and produced by Heaven Hill in Bardstown, Kentucky, which bottles it at a slightly higher strength.
How it's made
Dubonnet is an aromatized wine, or quinquina. The US version starts with red wine from Ruby Red, Ruby Cabernet and Muscat of Alexandria grapes, which is fortified to stop fermentation and blended with herbs and spices, including blackcurrant, tea and cinchona bark, and sweetened with cane sugar.
Why we carry them
We like Dubonnet over ice with a twist of orange, and it is a fun way to try a classic cocktail like the Dubonnet and gin.
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