Dubonnet Cocktail | Queen Elizabeths Favorite Cocktail
How to make Queen Elizabeths Cocktail - The Dubonnet Cocktail
Queen Elizabeth loved a drink. God rest her soul. But her favorite drink, or should I say her favorite cocktail, was non other then the classic that is the Dubonnet cocktail. I can just see it now, over at Balmoral Castle sipping dubonnet cocktails from crystal glassware like the queen she was.
What did Queen Elizabeth drink?
Do you ever think “I wonder if the queen drank?” because let me tell you, I sure as hell did.
It’s like thinking about your school teacher swearing, or god forbid your parents making, well, you. It just doesn’t seem right.
But beyond the glamour draping her majesty, she is at the end of the day, just a little old woman, and little old women love to drink. So I’ve done the research for you to enlighten you with useless knowledge on the drinking habits of Queen Elizabeth.
Two drinks that come up time and time again are wine and champagne. Sources point to her majesty having a a glass of champagne with afternoon tea along with a glass of her ‘favourite German sweet wine’ at dinner. Contrasting sources say that the glass of champagne is her before bed tipple as oppose to afternoon tea but hey, perhaps its a matter of both?
Her majesty’s former chef has noted she often likes a dry martini in the evening with her favourite gin, Gordons. Which is surprising considering it’s actually a really cheap gin. I’d expect her to drink £500 gin made by the steel of the tower of London’s dungeon chains, or something even more bizarre… but I guess £16 gin is just fine. Quite humble if you ask me.
Perhaps it’s a 1940s vintage bottle of Gordons, or perhaps I’m just over complicating it and she infact just likes what she likes regardless of the price.
Finally it’s her cocktail of choice, the same former royal chef who commented on her love of dry martinis, also mentioned her favourite cocktail is one of gin and Dubonnet with lemon and ice which she would usually have before lunch.
Royal Warrant
As far as which brands the queen likes is actually pretty simple to work out thanks to the royal warrant.
A royal warrant is a warrant issued by the sovereign authorizing a company to display the royal arms, indicating that goods or services are supplied to the sovereign or to a member of the royal family.
You can find the official list on the royal warrant website, which has categories for each sector and whether or not it’s appointed by the queen or some other royal, interesting to read through. There are currently 118 royal warrants in food and drink so I won’t list them all but a few interesting one are;
Dubonnet: of course… can’t make a dubonnet cocktail without dubonnet.
Fortnum and Mason: Who held the competition to find the official jubilee pudding recipe
Kellogg’s
Schweppes
Gordons: The only gin brand on the list
It also lists nine Champagne brands which are Bollinger, Pol Roger, Mumm, Krug, Lanson, Laurent Perrier, Champagne Roederer, Moët & Chandon and Veuve Clicqot.
Side note, the above underlined are all clickable to official amazon pages so you can shop all the queens favourite tipples for your Platinum Jubilee celebrations - enjoy.
The Queen does not drink every day
It’s worth noting that the source to a lot of these insider drinking habits of the queen comes from Darren McGrady whom is the former chef for the queen.
Listing all those drinks makes it look as if she drinks 4/5 times a day but he has stressed the fact that she doesn’t drink everyday. I like a glass of wine at night but that doesn’t mean I drink a glass of wine every night. Just because she likes champagne with afternoon tea, a dubonnet cocktail before lunch, wine with dinner and a martini in the afternoon does not mean she does that every day.
Darren has also been quoted saying it’s madness to think she drinks that much everyday, and that she would pickle if she drank that much.
The Queens Favourite cocktail - The Dubonnet cocktail
So if you’re wondering whether or not you can easily make the dubonnet cocktail and what it tastes like well wonder no more.
It’s a super easy cocktail to make, consisting of just 2 ingredients, 4 if you count a lemon peel and ice.
Taste wise it’s an hard-hitting all booze cocktail so expect a healthy kick with it. Dubonnet is a sweet, aromatised wine-based aperitif which is a blend of fortified wine, herbs, and spices,
Gordons gin is a London dry styled gin, heavily juniper forward.
If you like cocktails like Negronis and Martinis, this one will be especially tasty for you. If you’re not use to hard-hitting cocktails just sip slow and give it a chance, you might just love it.
Dubonnet Cocktail Recipe
Dubonnet cocktail
Ingredients
Instructions
- Add the gin and Dubonnet to a rocks glass (Riedel are my favourite) with plenty of ice, stir to combine, dilute, and chill.
- Garnish by squeezing the lemon over the cocktail to express the oils within the peel, rub it around the rim and drop it into your cocktail.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
119.99Fat
0.02 gSat. Fat
0 gCarbs
0.96 gFiber
0.64 gNet carbs
0.32 gSugar
0.25 gProtein
0.09 gSodium
0.87 mgCholesterol
0 mgThe nutritional information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
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Hi, I’m Cameron, guv’nor of Smartblend. If you liked this then you’re in luck, I have a bunch more related articles for you below. Oh, and don’t forget to sign up below to receive the Smartblend monthly newsletter! Thank you and happy mixing!
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