Dubonnet Red Aperitif

Dubonnet is a French quinquina aperitif wine, best served chilled over ice in a large rocks glass with a twist of orange or lemon peel. The classic Dubonnet and Gin serve, the preferred drink of Queen Elizabeth II, uses equal parts chilled Dubonnet and London Dry Gin over ice with a lemon slice. The bitter quinine, red wine, herbs, and spice character makes it an excellent low ABV alternative to a Negroni when not in the mood for something at full spirit strength.

No, though it is related. Dubonnet is a quinquina, a category of aromatised wine flavoured with quinine from cinchona bark, herbs, and spices. Vermouth is aromatised with wormwood, Artemisia absinthium, as its defining botanical. Both are fortified wines with botanical additions but the defining herbs differ, and the character profiles are distinct. Dubonnet is richer, more fruit forward, and more overtly bitter from the quinine, while sweet vermouth is typically more herb and spice driven.

On the nose: ripe cherry, dried plum, bitter orange, and a medicinal quinine note. On the palate: sweet dried fruit, quinine bitterness, warm spice, and a herbal complexity from the macerated botanicals. The finish carries a persistent bitter cherry and orange rind note that makes it effective as an aperitif. At approximately 15% ABV, the alcohol is background warmth rather than a structural element. It is a more accessible style than vermouth for those who find conventional aromatised wines too dry.

Dubonnet is a French quinquina aperitif wine, created by chemist Joseph Dubonnet in 1846 as a way to encourage French Foreign Legion soldiers to consume quinine as a malaria preventative by masking the bitterness in a sweetened fortified wine with herbs and spices. It is now produced in both France and the United States. The French original, Dubonnet Rouge, is the reference expression, combining red wine, quinine, herbs, and a proprietary botanical blend at approximately 15% ABV.

You can order Dubonnet online here at Celtic Whiskey Shop with nationwide delivery across Ireland and international shipping available. We stock Dubonnet Rouge, the essential aperitif for a classic Dubonnet and Gin. Prefer to browse in person? Visit us at 27 28 Dawson Street, Dublin 2, open 7 days. Our team will advise on the full aperitif wine and aromatised wine range.