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If you’ve ever stood in front of a drinks cabinet and wondered what exactly Dubonnet is, you’re not alone. It looks a little like vermouth, sits in the same kind of bottle, and even shares a few ingredients. But it’s a very different creature — richer, smoother and, dare we say it, distinctly British. In truth, Dubonnet and vermouth are cousins, not twins. Both began life in 19th-century Europe, made to make quinine and botanicals more palatable. Both were designed to be sipp

For decades, Dubonnet sat quietly at the back of British drinks cabinets. It wasn’t flashy, it wasn’t fashionable, but it was always there. The bottle you’d notice at your grandmother’s, sitting beside the Bristol Cream and the port, waiting for someone who still remembered how to pour it properly. Then, somewhere between royal nostalgia and modern curiosity, people started to whisper about it again. The Queen’s favourite drink. Two Dubonnet, One gin, a slice of orange a lit

For seventy years, one small ritual followed the Queen from Buckingham Palace to Balmoral: a glass of Dubonnet and gin before lunch. It wasn’t a guilty pleasure or a passing habit. It was a marker of taste, a quiet moment in the day that never required attention or applause. Most people assume it was quaint or old-fashioned. In truth, it’s one of Britain’s simplest and most civilised drinks. Two Dubonnet, one gin, served over ice with a slice of lemon. Nothing more. The kind

Forget champagne. The Queen’s daily drink of choice was far more mischievous. Long before lunch, Her Majesty was known to sip a simple...

Why the Hip Flask Matters Some British traditions don’t need reinventing. The shooting breakfast with bacon rolls at dawn. The chaos of...

There’s something rather satisfying about a drink that doesn’t shout—but makes everyone look twice. Autumn has a way of slowing us down....

A Modern Take on a Royal Ritual There’s something satisfying about a drink that doesn’t shout but makes everyone look twice. G&D is that...

The Problem with Most Bottled Cocktails The UK does not suffer from a lack of gin, but when it comes to bottled or premixed cocktails it...

What Does ‘British Mischief’ Mean? British mischief is a particular kind of wit and rebellion. It is playful rather than reckless,...

The Queen’s Cocktail, Bottled? Gin and Dubonnet was famously the late Queen Elizabeth II’s favourite cocktail. Two parts Dubonnet, one...

The Royal Ritual Queen Elizabeth II was famously fond of a gin and Dubonnet. The recipe was simple: two parts Dubonnet, one part gin,...

The Aperol Spritz has had a good run.It ’s photogenic, polite, and available everywhere from Venice to Woking. But some of us are ready...

We get asked a lot: “Where can I buy G&D in shops?” The short answer? You can’t.The better answer? You wouldn’t want to. G&D isn’t a...

Let’s be honest: some cocktails taste like the drinks cabinet lost a bet to the pick ’n’ mix aisle. Syrupy, fluorescent, and barely...

It’s not that there’s anything wrong with an Aperol Spritz. It’s just... you’ve had quite enough of them. So has everyone else. Enter G&D...

A quiet ritual worth keeping For years, Dubonnet sat quietly on British sideboards, gathering more dust than admirers. Then, when the late Queen’s fondness for her Dubonnet and gin was revealed, the country remembered the charm of a proper aperitif. Suddenly, bottles became scarce. We went searching for something similar – something British, elegant and bittersweet. We tried clever modern substitutes, local vermouths, even a few homemade blends. They all had promise, but none

The Podcast’s Signature Tipple If you’ve ever found yourself halfway through an episode of Help I Sexted My Boss  wondering, “What...

The Queen’s Favourite Cocktail, Reimagined G&D is the bottled successor to the Queen’s favourite cocktail: gin and Dubonnet....

And not just at the royal one. The gin and Dubonnet cocktail is an oddity. Too bitter for sweet-toothed drinkers. Too royal for the...

Tradition with a twist. Always loaded. There’s something about a shooting weekend that demands a drink with backbone. The clink of glass...