duke

1/2 Drambuie (1 1/2 oz)
1/4 Orange Juice (3/4 oz)
1/4 Lemon Juice (3/4 oz)
1 Egg

Shake once without ice and once with. Strain into a medium-sized glass with a dash of Champagne (1 oz Gloria Ferrer Sonoma Brut). I garnished with orange zest.

Wednesday last week, I was looking through the Café Royal Cocktail Book and spotted the Duke. The drink caught my eye for the spirit in the drink was Drambuie in an intriguing Diamond Royal Fizz. Besides providing most of the alcoholic kick to the drink, the Drambuie donated all the sweetness as well to balance the citrus and sparkling wine components. I was curious as to the origins of the drink's name and had to look up how the Duke fell into the Drambuie lore of Prince Charles Edward Stuart and Captain John MacKinnon. Other Drambuie drinks I have made have honored either the Prince who created Drambuie, such as Bonnie Prince Charles and Prince Edward, or the captain who gave the Prince sanctuary and was gifted the recipe, such as the MacKinnon. Of the two major dukes in the story, it is unlikely that this drink was named after the Duke of Cumberland who pursued but failed to capture the Prince; on the other hand, the drink was most likely named after the Duke of Perth, James Drummond, who MacKinnon served under.
The Duke possessed a honey, Scotch, and orange aroma. The whole egg donated a creaminess to the citrus and honey sip, and the sparkling wine paired with the Drambuie's Scotch base and dried out the swallow. Of the two citrus elements, the Duke was more orange than lemon flavored; in addition, when the drink was colder, the citrus and sparkling wine notes shaped the drink more, but as the drink warmed up, the Scotch notes came to the front. With the egg, citrus, and liqueur components, the drink somewhat reminded me of the green Chartreuse-based St. Germain, and of the previous Drambuie drinks mentioned above, the Duke reminded me the most of the MacKinnon.