Dubonnet

Dubonnet is a sweet, aromatised wine-based aperitif with 15% alcohol by volume. It is a blend of fortified wine, herbs, and spices (including a small amount of quinine), with fermentation being stopped by the addition of alcohol. The brand is currently produced in France by Pernod Ricard, and in the USA by Heaven Hill Distilleries of Bardstown, Kentucky. The company says it is the "number-one selling aperitif brand in the United States". The beverage is famous in the UK for having been the favourite drink of the Queen Mother.

Dubonnet was first sold in 1846 by Joseph Dubonnet, in response to a competition run by the French Government to find a way of persuading French Foreign Legionnaires in North Africa to drink quinine. Quinine combats malaria but is very bitter.

The brand ownership was taken over by Pernod Ricard in 1976. It was re-popularised in late 1970s by an advertising campaign starring Pia Zadora. 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" (a play on words roughly meaning "It's nice; it's good; it's Dubonnet"), which still can be found on walls of houses in France. The brand later became owned by Heaven Hill.

Dubonnet is commonly mixed with lemonade or bitter lemon, and forms part of many cocktails.

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