In addition, you will be interested to know that Queen Elizabeth, given the great success of Gin all over the world, has decided to launch her own, The Buckingham Palace Gardens.

Speaking instead of Dubonnet

In 1830, malaria plagued French and colonial soldiers in North Africa.

Quinine, extracted from the bark of the cinchona tree, is an effective treatment, but the substance was so bitter that it was difficult for anyone to take.

The French authorities offered rewards to anyone who could create wine-based recipes, which managed to make quinine more palatable.

One of the first successful products was developed by the Parisian chemist Joseph Dubonnet.

Introduced in 1846, Dubonnet had a bitter quinine flavor, flavored with cinnamon, green coffee beans, orange peel and chamomile, fortified with neutral grape brandy.

Embraced by the colonists, Dubonnet soon became popular throughout France.

Similarly iconic was another Frenchman, Kina Lillet. First produced in 1887, Lillet was originally a bitter aperitif based on Bordeaux wines and flavored with fruit liqueurs.

In 1986, however, the quinine level was reduced giving the product a less bitter, albeit still addictive, citrus flavor, the product was reintroduced as Lillet Blanc (a red version, Lillet Rouge, was introduced in 1960) .

The company was bought by Pernod Ricard in 1976.

By that time, the drink had fallen out of favor with insufficient sales.

Ricard started an aggressive advertising campaign, which helped the drink regain its popularity.

The aperitif has an intense ruby ​​red color and a scent that smells of a combination of cherry, cinnamon and lemon. It blends well with other citrus lemon and bitter flavors. The Opera cocktail usually includes a mix of Dubonnet with gin and maraschino cherry.

For a Merry Widow, Dubonnet is mixed with bitters, vodka and vermouth.

For most of their history, such as Dubonnet and Lillet, as well as brands such as St. Raphael and Byrrh, which are mainly found in Europe, have been consumed as aperitifs, either on their own or slightly modified with a slice of orange or some soda, however, are not entirely escaping the attention of the bartenders.

"There are no recipes, especially since 1890, through Prohibition, in which they appear quite sporadically," played a similar role to that played by vermouth martinis - in drinks such as Manhattan and the like, such as Opera Cocktail and Deshler, but the wines also appear in more distinctive drinks, such as gin-based Twentieth Century and Corpse Reviver No. 2. Lillet has also enjoyed a great deal of fame as an ingredient in the Vesper Martini.