I have to say, when I’ve been making pre-prohibition cocktail recipes using the modern Lillet, I’ve sometimes found it to be a little too strongly flavored and sweet.

For example, a Bush-Ranger Cocktail with Lillet Blanc, was pretty, “eh?,” where a Cabaret with with Dubonnet Blanc was quite tasty. (Though, I may have chosen rum badly or just prefer the Cabaret.)

Don’t waste your time in bars with cheap vermouth! :->

Plymouth Gin, Noilly Pratt dry vermouth, in a 3-to-1 ratio, with a dash of Regan’s Orange Bitters, stirred sufficiently to fully chill, with a lemon twist as a garnish…. ahhh….

I bet the reason Bond kept asking for vodka Martinis was because he saw cheap vermouth behind the bar, and knew that they wouldn’t add any of it to his Martini if he had them make it with vodka. And he had them shake it instead of stirring it so he would know without tasting it if they had added any vermouth!

All the while he was really wanting a finely crafted gin Martini.

Using “Kina Lillet” as a manner to indicate you want Lillet Blanc seems like one of those time-travel paradoxes to me :->. “Kina” is from back in the day before they had Rouge, so Blanc would be the only option, but they don’t use the term “Kina” anymore, and if they did it woudl be appropriate for both Blanc and Rouge, since Kina was refering to the quinine, and both products have the same amount.

Yes, in the second paragraph above I indicate that in the mid 1980’s Lillet Blanc was modified… the modification was mostly to reduce the amount of quinine it contained (although I do believe there was a little additional adjustment in some of the other ingredients as well.) Adding a little Cinchona bark (which is where quinine comes from) would be “a” way to bring this a little more in line to what was available pre-80’s.

I haven’t dived into the history of Dubonnet yet, so I can’t comment on comparisons between it and Lillet, except to say that the two products are very much different, I find it far easier to mix with Dubonnet Rouge than Lillet Rouge.