Dubonnet is a sweet, wine-based aperitif

Aperitif

Apéritifs and digestifs are alcoholic drinks that are normally served with meals.-Apéritifs:An apéritif is usually served before a meal to stimulate the appetite. This contrasts with digestifs, which are served after a meal for the purpose of aiding digestion...

. It is a blend of fortified wine

Fortified wine

Fortified wine is wine to which a distilled beverage has been added. Fortified wine is distinguished from spirits made from wine in that spirits are produced by means of distillation, while fortified wine is simply wine that has had a spirit added to it...

, herbs, and spices (including a small amount of quinine

Quinine

Quinine is a natural white crystalline alkaloid having antipyretic , antimalarial, analgesic , anti-inflammatory properties and a bitter taste. It is a stereoisomer of quinidine which, unlike quinine, is an anti-arrhythmic...

), with fermentation

Fermentation (wine)

The process of fermentation in wine turns grape juice into an alcoholic beverage. During fermentation, yeast interact with sugars in the juice to create ethanol, commonly known as ethyl alcohol, and carbon dioxide...

 being stopped by the addition of alcohol.

Dubonnet was first sold in 1846 by Joseph Dubonnet, in response to a competition run by the French authorities to find a way of persuading French Foreign Legionnaires in North Africa to drink quinine

Quinine

Quinine is a natural white crystalline alkaloid having antipyretic , antimalarial, analgesic , anti-inflammatory properties and a bitter taste. It is a stereoisomer of quinidine which, unlike quinine, is an anti-arrhythmic...

. Quinine combats malaria

Malaria

Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...

 but is very bitter.

The brand-name Dubonnet was taken over by Pernod Ricard

Pernod Ricard

Pernod Ricard is a French company that produces distilled beverages. The company's eponymous products, Pernod Anise and Ricard Pastis, are both anise-flavoured liqueurs and are often referred to simply as Pernod or Ricard...

 in 1976. It was re-popularised in late 1970s by an advertising campaign starring Pia Zadora

Pia Zadora

Pia Zadora is an American actress and singer. After working as a child actress on Broadway, in regional theater, and in the film Santa Claus Conquers the Martians , she came to national attention in 1981 when, following her starring role in the highly criticized Butterfly, she won a Golden Globe...

. 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", which still can be found on walls of houses in France. Dubonnet is commonly mixed with lemonade

Lemonade

Lemonade is a lemon-flavored drink, typically made from lemons, water and sugar.The term can refer to three different types of beverage:...

 or bitter lemon

Bitter lemon

Bitter lemon is a carbonated soft drink flavoured with quinine and lemon.-The drink:The signature bitter taste is produced by a combination of the quinine and the lemon pith used in manufacturing the drink. The principal difference between tonic water and bitter lemon is the addition of lemon juice...

, and forms part of many cocktail

Cocktail

A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink that contains two or more ingredients—at least one of the ingredients must be a spirit.Cocktails were originally a mixture of spirits, sugar, water, and bitters. The word has come to mean almost any mixed drink that contains alcohol...

s. Reputedly it is a favourite beverage of:

• the French Foreign Legion
  French Foreign Legion
  The French Foreign Legion is a unique military service wing of the French Army established in 1831. The foreign legion was exclusively created for foreign nationals willing to serve in the French Armed Forces...
  
  
• Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
  Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
  Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the queen consort of King George VI from 1936 until her husband's death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II...
  
  , who liked gin
  Gin
  Gin is a spirit which derives its predominant flavour from juniper berries . Although several different styles of gin have existed since its origins, it is broadly differentiated into two basic legal categories...
  
   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..."
• Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, who also likes a Dubonnet and gin before lunch every day.
• Hetty Wainthropp
  Hetty Wainthropp Investigates
  Hetty Wainthropp Investigates is a genteel British crime–comedy drama television series which aired from 1996 to 1998 on BBC One. The series starred Patricia Routledge as the title character , Derek Benfield as her patient husband Robert, Dominic Monaghan as their lodger Geoffrey Shawcross...
  
   (self-made private investigator) of the BBC series "Hetty Wainthropp Investigates".
• Katie (Barbra Streisand
  Barbra Streisand
  Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
  
  ) in The Way We Were, over ice.

Dubonnet has been said to be similar to Buckfast Tonic Wine

Buckfast Tonic Wine

Buckfast Tonic Wine, commonly known as Buckfast or Buckie or Tonic , is a fortified wine licensed by Buckfast Abbey in Devon, south west England. It is distributed by J...

.

Cocktails that include Dubonnet as one of their ingredients

• Alfonso, The
• Apple Dubonnet
• Bentley
• Dubonnet Cassis
• Dubonnet Cocktail
• Dubonnet Delight
• Dubonnet Fizz
• Dubonnet Helado
• Dubonnet Highball
• Dubonnet Kiss
• Dubonnet Manhattan
• Dubonnet Negroni
• Dubonnet Royal
• Opera Cocktail
• Red Moonlight
• Rum Dubonnet
• San Diego Cocktail
• Savoy Hotel Special
• Trois Rivieres
• Mummy Love
• Marble Hill
• Napoleon
• Karl-Gerhard
• Bossunova Belt
• Magic Juice

See also

• Gin and tonic
  Gin and tonic
  A gin and tonic is a highball cocktail made with gin and tonic water poured over ice. It is usually garnished with a slice or wedge of lime, or lemon. The amount of gin varies according to taste...
  
  , another drink invented to encourage European colonial soldiers in tropical climates to take quinine.