17 Sep 2022: Vendome Cocktail
Ingredients
1 oz. gin (I used a London dry)
1 oz. dry vermouth
1 oz. Dubonnet Rouge
Add the ingredients together in a mixing glass. Add ice. Stir for 30 seconds. Serve in a cocktail glass with a twist of lemon.
24 Jan 2022: Something Good
We’ve been browsing David Lebowitz’s Drinking French for new-to-us cocktail ideas. And because we miss France. Highly recommended for not only interesting the aperitif and cocktails, but also the non-alcoholic entries.
This week we discovered an aperitif called “Something Good” and it really is something good. Based on gin, added Dubonnet Rouge and an orange spirit like Cointreau or Grand Marnier.
The ratios are 2 parts gin to 1/2 Dubonnet and 1/2 Cointreau/Grand Marnier. Add ice, stir, and strain into a coupé.
Happy sipping!
22 August: AOÛT
August or AOÛT - It’s hot and hazy and, in our family, a big Birthday Month. Tonight’s cocktail, the AOÛT, comes from Rebekah Peppler’s Aperitif: Cocktail House the French Way. This is a cocktail that is on the lighter side which means it is perfect for hot and humid August nights.
One note about the ingredients: this cocktails calls for ginger beer - not ginger ale. I liked the intense spiciness of Q Ginger Beer, but if you are not a fan of intense ginger flavor, you may want to sub in a good quality ginger ale.
Ingredients
1-1/2 ounces Dubonnet Rouge
1/2 ounce orange liqueur
Ginger Beer
Orange Wedge
How To Make It
Pour the Dubonnet and orange liqueur (I used Cointreau - Grand Marnier or dry Curacao also recommended) into an ice-filled Collins glass. Top with Ginger and finish with the orange wedge.
05 June: A Variation on the Queen's Cocktail
Ever since we discovered Queen Elizabeth’s fondness for a pick-me-up Dubonnet Cocktail, it’s been added into our cocktail rotation. The Queen’s cocktail is a 2 to 1 ratio, Dubonnet Rouge to a dry gin, served over ice with a twist of lemon. The Bisson version is more like a 1 to 1 ratio. We are fans of gins on the more juniper-y side, so while we have some artisanal favorite spirits, when anticipating a quarantine, we managed to buy a gigantic bottle of Tanqueray which is pretty darn good.
To change things up, last night we opened the Lillet Rose (pink) and substituted that for the Dubonnet Rouge in the Queen’s Cocktail.
It was a winner with which that I believe Her Highness would be on board.