Here's How to Make Queen Elizabeth's Favorite Cocktail

Queen Elizabeth's Favorite Cocktail Recipe

  • It's common knowledge among royal fans that the Queen loves a good cocktail.
  • The monarch has been rumored to drink as many as four strong cocktails a day (although people in her inner circle, including former royal chef Darren McGrady, have denied those claims on record in the past).
  • In honor of the launch of its new Royals magazine, People has shared the recipe for the Queen's favorite cocktail, a gin and Dubonnet, which she does apparently drink every single day at dinner.

Fact: The Queen loves a good cocktail. Also fact: You, too, can drink like royalty.

The Queen's favorite cocktail—which is she drinks every single day before dinner—is a gin and Dubonnet. The Queen has a page, Paul Whybrew, whose job it is to fix this drink for her every night, but even us normals without, you know, 24/7 staff on-hand to cater to our every need and whim, can make this delicious drink.

People shared the recipe for the Queen's favorite daily drink in honor of the launch of its new royal-focused publication, PEOPLE Royals magazine, and it's actually surprisingly easy to make.

According to People, "One serving of the cocktail calls for 2 oz. Dubonnet with 1 oz. gin added to ice and stirred until chilled, then strain into a martini or coupe glass. For the finishing touch, add a lemon peel."

For extra royal results, use the Queen's own brand of gin. She actually has two, one launched by Buckingham Palace that's made from ingredients gown in the Queen's garden at her London residence, and another from her Sandringham estate in Norfolk, which uses ingredients from the Sandringham gardens.

And voila: You're ready to drink like a queen. Speaking of the Queen and her drinking habits, the monarch as long been rumored to drink quite a bit. In his book Long Live the Queen! 13 Rules for Living from Britain's Longest Reigning Monarch, royal author Bryan Kozlowski shared reports of the Queen's drinking prowess, writing that she is known for "habitually knocking back four strong cocktails a day—starting just before luncheon."

Many close to the Queen deny this report though, including the former royal chef Darren McGrady who says the Queen would be "pickled" if she drank as much as it's sometimes suggested.

Still, according to Kozlowski, the Queen's daily drinking habit is part of the secret to her long reign—and her ability to maintain her mental health under the stress of, well, being Queen. "Throughout her reign, alcohol has always served in the function of fast-acting stress reliever—a dose of liquid decompression on hectic days," he writes.

We'll drink to that.

Kayleigh Roberts
Weekend Editor

Kayleigh Roberts is a freelance writer and editor with more than 10 years of professional experience. Her byline has appeared in Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, The Atlantic, Allure, Entertainment Weekly, MTV, Bustle, Refinery29, Girls’ Life Magazine, Just Jared, and Tiger Beat, among other publications. She's a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.