Tag Archives: Dubonnet

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Princess Mary’s Pride Cocktail

Princess Mary's Pride Cocktail

Princess Mary’s Pride Cocktail.
1/4 French Vermouth. (1/2 oz Dolin Dry Vermouth)
1/4 Dubonnet. (1/2 oz Dubonnet)
1/2 Calvados. (1 oz Groult Calvados Reserve)

Shake (I stirred) well and strain into cocktail glass.

Created by Harry Craddock on February 28, 1922, to mark the wedding celebrations of H.R.H Princess Mary.

Like the preceding Princess Mary, this was created to mark the wedding of H.R.H. Princess Mary. Nothing against Mr. McElhone’s cocktail, but this is about a zillion times better to me.

Being 2/3 aperitif wine, it is on the light side, but the flavorful Groult Calvados still pokes it’s head out, giving the drink a flavorful character.

Thoroughly enjoyable, this is one cocktail I suspect is better with Calvados than it would be with American Apple Brandy.

This post is one in a series documenting my ongoing effort to make all of the cocktails in the Savoy Cocktail Book, starting at the first, Abbey, and ending at the last, Zed.

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Phoebe Snow Cocktail

Phoebe Snow Cocktail

Phoebe Snow Cocktail.

1 Dash Absinthe. (Verte de Fougerolles)
1/2 Brandy. (1 oz Osocalis Alambic Brandy)
1/2 Dubonnet. (1 oz Dubonnet Rouge)

Shake (I stirred) well and strain into cocktail glass. (Felt like it needed a Cherry.)

Nothing complicated here; but an enjoyable cocktail all the same.

Interestingly, like Aunt Jemina and Betty Crocker, Phoebe Snow was a fictional character created as a part of an advertising campaign.

“Phoebe Snow, the “maid in white” who promoted the smoke-free anthracite coal used on the Lackawanna Railroad, was the brainchild of one of advertising’s earliest creative geniuses, Earnest Elmo Calkins.”

So successful was the character that the Lackawanna Railroad named its first stream lined passenger train after her in 1949.

However, as with all things railroad, in later years mounting losses took their toll.

“Still, despite fine service and great views, as with the rest of the railroad industry, the Phoebe Snow could not stave off increasing losses as passengers took to their cars and the air for faster, more efficient means of travel. With the loss of the US Postal Service mail contracts in 1966 the Erie Lackawanna decided it was time to retire the Phoebe for good and she made her last run on November 28th of that year.”

Should you order this cocktail at the next Savoy Night at Alembic Bar, July 26th?

If you’re looking for an uncomplicated before dinner aperitif, I’d give it a, “why not?”

This post is one in a series documenting my ongoing effort to make all of the cocktails in the Savoy Cocktail Book, starting at the first, Abbey, and ending at the last, Zed.

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Peggy Cocktail

Peggy Cocktail

Peggy Cocktail.

1 Dash Absinthe. (Absinthe Verte de Fougerolles)
1 Dash Dubonnet. (Dubonnet Rouge)
1/3 French Vermouth. (3/4 oz Noilly Original Dry Vermouth)
2/3 Dry Gin. (1 1/2 oz Beefeater Gin)

Shake (I stirred) well and strain into cocktail glass.

There are a couple cocktails in the Savoy Cocktail Book that call for Dubonnet Rouge in “dash” proportions. I had heard that the French version of Dubonnet Rouge was distinct from the American version, so assumed it might have more bitter character. I thought maybe that might explain using it in such small proportions.

However, I recently had a chance to try the French version of Dubonnet Rouge. While it did seem to be a nicer product, with maybe a slightly higher quality wine base, it was really not much different at all in terms of overall taste and bitterness. While it is possible that both products may have evolved over time, I suspect that the dash of Dubonnet here is just providing a slight rosy hue.

In any case, this is a pleasant, if not outstanding, cocktail.  A slightly richer, and pinker, version of a dry martini.

As Mrs. Flannestad and I are still making our way through the second season of Mad Men, the name of this cocktail reminds me a bit of the always conflicted Peggy on that show.

This post is one in a series documenting my ongoing effort to make all of the cocktails in the Savoy Cocktail Book, starting at the first, Abbey, and ending at the last, Zed.

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Opera Cocktail

Opera Cocktail

Opera Cocktail.

1/6 Maraschino. (1/2 of 3/4 oz Luxardo Maraschino)
1/6 Dubonnet. (1/2 of 3/4 oz Dubonnet Rouge)
2/3 Dry Gin. (1 1/2 oz Beefeater 24)

Shake (I stirred) well and strain into cocktail glass. Squeeze orange peel on top.

This version of the Opera is too sweet for me. Tastes like perfumey, wine candy. My first instinct was to increase the Dubonnet Rouge to 3/4 oz and reduce the Maraschino to a bar spoon. That version lacked zest. I think somewhere around a quarter ounce of Maraschino would be about right. A dash or two of Angostura bitters wouldn’t hurt, either.

Beefeater 24

Received the Beefeater 24 from the folks promoting its launch in the US. Nice bottle, eh? It’s a pleasant gin, a bit more citrus forward than the regular Beefeater and perhaps a bit sweeter. I don’t get much flavor from the much ballyhooed inclusion of Japanese Green Tea. Perhaps the subtle character of green tea would show up in a simpler drink.

This post is one in a series documenting my ongoing effort to make all of the cocktails in the Savoy Cocktail Book, starting at the first, Abbey, and ending at the last, Zed.

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Napoleon Cocktail

Napoleon Cocktail

Napoleon Cocktail

1 Dash Fernet Branca. (1/3 tsp. Fernet Branca)
1 Dash Curacao. (1/3 tsp. Bols Dry Orange Curacao)
1 Dash Dubonnet. (1/3 tsp. Vergano Lulli Americano)
1 Glass Dry Gin. (2 oz Beefeater Gin)

Shake (I stirred) well and strain into cocktail glass. Squeeze lemon peel on top.

As we’ve noted, while there were a number of civilized fifty-fifty martini type drinks on the menu before and after prohibition, there was also no shortage of, “Hey! That’s just booze in that glass!” drinks either.

If I were you, I’d go a bit long on those dashes. As measured above, this tasted pretty much like a big, cold glass of gin.

This post is one in a series documenting my ongoing effort to make all of the cocktails in the Savoy Cocktail Book, starting at the first, Abbey, and ending at the last, Zed.

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Dubonnet Cocktail

Dubonnet Cocktail

1/2 Dubonnet. (Generous 1 oz Dubonnet Rouge)
1/2 Dry Gin. (Generous 1 oz Tanqueray)

Stir well and strain into cocktail glass.

A fine, if somewhat plain, cocktail.

I can’t really think of anything to say about it other than that.

I’ve read the Dubonnet they have in Canada and Europe is different from the Dubonnet we get here, so perhaps this is a more interesting cocktail elsewhere.

This post is one in a series documenting my ongoing effort to make all of the cocktails in the Savoy Cocktail Book, starting at the first, Abbey, and ending at the last, Zed.

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Diabola Cocktail

Diabola Cocktail

2/3 Dubonnet. (1 1/2 oz Dubonnet Rouge)
1/3 Gin. (3/4 oz Junipero Gin)
2 Dashes Orgeat Syrup. (Monin)

Shake (stir, please) well and strain into cocktail glass.

This is a fine and enjoyable cocktail, significantly improved by the addition of a dash of Angostura Bitters. If you choose to make it yourself, I would advise picking a more aggressively flavored Gin, given the ratio of Dubonnet to spirit.

“Diabola” may be Latin for “Evil One.” It certainly is used as part of the “Latin” binomial for various menacing looking plants and animals like the “Dracula Lily” (Dracula diabola) and “DEVIL’S RIVER BLACKHEAD SNAKE” (Tantilla rubra diabola). Diabola also appears to be a common name among certain, how shall we say, sub-cultures which frequent some of the more colorful corners of the Internet. Fair warning: in case you are drawn to Google it yourself, these pages are of the sort which you really probably shouldn’t dig in to while at work.

Again, like the Devil’s Cocktail, I can’t say I found this cocktail particularly evil, menacing, or deceptive.

This post is one in a series documenting my ongoing effort to make all of the cocktails in the Savoy Cocktail Book, starting at the first, Abbey, and ending at the last, Zed.

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Dandy Cocktail

Dandy Cocktail

Dandy Cocktail

1/2 Rye or Canadian Club Whisky. (1 oz Rittenhouse Bonded Rye Whiskey)
1/2 Dubonnet. (1 oz Vergano Americano)
1 Dash Angostura Bitters.
3 Dashes Cointreau. (1 tsp. Cointreau)
1 Piece Lemon Peel.
1 Piece Orange Peel.

Shake (stir, please) well and strain into cocktail glass.

First, I find Dubonnet, at least as we have it here, made in the good old USA, to be a pretty boring ingredient. I’ve heard rumors that the stuff they have in France and other countries is superior, but I haven’t ever had it in France to know.

Anyway, since I’m out of Dubonnet Rouge and don’t have any Lillet Rouge, I thought I’d sub in the Vergano Americano. Not traditional, I suppose.

I interpreted the rest of the instructions literally, cutting two wide swaths of peel, squeezing them into the ingredients in the mixing tin and dropping them in. Then stirring them with everything else.

The use of peels as an ingredient makes me think of 19th century drinks like Cobblers, though the use of Cointreau and Dubonnet, seems to place the cocktail more squarely in the 20th Century. Perhaps a 20th Century adaptation of a 19th Century recipe?

One interesting note I found in the 1900 edition of “Cocktail Bill Boothby’s American Bartender”:

Some of my recipes for the manufacture of cocktails order the dispenser to twist a piece of lemon peel into the glass in which the drink is to be served; but in some establishments this is forbidden, the bartender being ordered to twist and drop the peel into the mixing glass and strain the peel with the ice when putting the drink into the serving glass. This is merely a matter of form, however, as the flavor is the same in both cases.

So, I guess, this recipe came from one of those establishments!

Anyway, this re-imagined Dandy is pretty fantastic. I’ve made it before with Dubonnet Rouge and thought it kind of “meh”. A slightly tweaked Manhattan. With the Americano, it ends up more similar to a Creole Cocktail, but is quite spicily distinct. With the Americano’s bitter Quinine bite giving more structure, at least to my taste, than the combination of sweet vermouth and Amer Picon in the Creole. The milder flavor of the Rittenhouse seemed more appropriate rather than the Sazerac Straight or Wild Turkey Rye, but I’m sure they would also be quite tasty.

Definitely something I’ll make again.

This post is one in a series documenting my ongoing effort to make all of the cocktails in the Savoy Cocktail Book, starting at the first, Abbey, and ending at the last, Zed.

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Biltong Dry Cocktail

Biltong Dry Cocktail

1 Dash Orange Bitters.
1/4 Dubonnet. (1/2 oz Dubonnet Rouge)
1/4 Gin. (1/2 oz Tanqueray Gin)
1/2 Caperitif. (1 oz Lillet Dry)

Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.

Well, I can tell you that Biltong (wikipedia link) is a type of dried meat, (beef, game or ostrich,) originally made by Dutch “Pioneers” in South Africa.

Per cocktaildb, I’ve again substituted Lillet Blanc for the defunct South African aperitif wine, Caperitif.

The Biltong cocktail is alright. Pretty decent low alcohol before dinner drink, I should imagine. An olive would probably be a better garnish than the orange zest I used.

After drinking it, I kept thinking it would be better as a long drink over ice or with a splash of soda.

This post is one in a series documenting my ongoing effort to make all of the cocktails in the Savoy Cocktail Book, starting at the first, Abbey, and ending at the last, Zed.

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Bentley Cocktail

Bentley Cocktail

1/2 Calvados, or Apple Brandy. (1 1/2 oz Germain-Robin Apple Brandy)
1/2 Dubonnet. (1 1/2 oz Dubonnet Rouge)

Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.

A fine, if unremarkable, cocktail. Found it a bit more interesting with the addition of orange peel and a dash of orange bitters.

Some drinky types have mentioned that the Dubonnet sold in the US is manufactured in Kentucky by Heaven Hill and may have a less interesting character than the Dubonnet manufactured in France. Not having had the opportunity to try the imported stuff I cannot confirm or deny this opinion.

This post is one in a series documenting my ongoing effort to make all of the cocktails in the Savoy Cocktail Book, starting at the first, Abbey, and ending at the last, Zed.