Lillet Rouge
Also known as “red Lillet”. Proprietary French sweet (rouge) variation of Kina Lillet introduced in the mid-20th Century. Uncommon in cocktails, despite likley being someone’s attempt to mimic the red vs. dry product lines by then ubiquitous amongst vermouth producers. Today, Lillet Rouge is confusingly marketed with identical labeling to Lillet Blanc, the straw-colored product. Technically, quinquina is ad hoc generic for sweetened fortified aperitif wines containing quinine (thus “quinquina”) and spices. The major brands are: Bonal, Byrrh, Dubonnet, Lillet, and St. Raphael. The quinine is the bitter constituent which promotes production of digestive enzymes and, therefore, appetite. Most quinquinas are produced from mistelle (fortified grape juice) rather than actual fermented wine. Quinquinas are similar to vermouths, but emphasize other botanicals. Quinquina products tend to be idiosyncratic and they don’t really substitute for each other in mixed drinks—a substitution might produce a palatable drink, but it will probably be a completely different drink. In mixed drinks, the fact is that, in historic mixed drink recipes, “quinquina” meant Dubonnet (the red stuff), period. If another product was intended, it would be specified by name.
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Related ingredients
Curated cross-links from the source catalogue — related to this ingredient, not part of the category tree.
- Aperitif Rossi
fermented & brewed alcoholic ingredients › grape wine › fortified wine › aperitif wine (fortified) › quinquina
- Bonal Gentiane-Quina
fermented & brewed alcoholic ingredients › grape wine › fortified wine › aperitif wine (fortified) › quinquina
- Byrrh Grand Quinquina
fermented & brewed alcoholic ingredients › grape wine › fortified wine › aperitif wine (fortified) › quinquina
- Dubonnet
fermented & brewed alcoholic ingredients › grape wine › fortified wine › aperitif wine (fortified) › quinquina
- Dubonnet blanc
fermented & brewed alcoholic ingredients › grape wine › fortified wine › aperitif wine (fortified) › quinquina
- Gentiane de Lure
fermented & brewed alcoholic ingredients › grape wine › fortified wine › aperitif wine (fortified) › quinquina
- Hercules
fermented & brewed alcoholic ingredients › grape wine › fortified wine › aperitif wine (fortified) › quinquina
- Kina Lillet
fermented & brewed alcoholic ingredients › grape wine › fortified wine › aperitif wine (fortified) › quinquina
- Lillet Blanc
fermented & brewed alcoholic ingredients › grape wine › fortified wine › aperitif wine (fortified) › quinquina
- Lillet Rosé
fermented & brewed alcoholic ingredients › grape wine › fortified wine › aperitif wine (fortified) › quinquina
- Mattei Cap Corse Blanc Quinquina
fermented & brewed alcoholic ingredients › grape wine › fortified wine › aperitif wine (fortified) › quinquina
- Mattei Cap Corse Rouge Quinquina
fermented & brewed alcoholic ingredients › grape wine › fortified wine › aperitif wine (fortified) › quinquina
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