eider duck

1/4 Lemon Juice (1/2 oz)
1/4 Cognac (1/2 oz Courvoisier VS)
1/4 Kirschwasser (1/2 oz Trimbach Kirsch)
1/4 Grand Marnier (1/2 oz)

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

After the Procession, I decided to flip through the Café Royal Cocktail Book for a followup. There, I spotted the Eider Duck that I had first discovered over three years ago when I was assembling the menu for our International Migratory Bird Day cocktail party. The drink was one of the ones I put on the list without testing before hand and I regretted afterwards not having tried it; my notes say that I made one but I neglected to ask the recipient how it turned out. The recipe first appeared in the Café Royal Cocktail Book and was credited to C.A. Gadina who was most likely a member of the UK Bartenders Guild. From what at first seemed to be a motley assortment of ingredients quickly began to look like a cherry-flavored Sidecar after further inspection.
The Eider Duck greeted my nose with the kirsch's cherry with perhaps a hint of orange from the Grand Marnier. The sip presented a lemon flavor that was neither crisp nor sweet; it came across as a mellowed out or dulled citrus flavor perhaps due to the Grand Marnier. The drink finished off with a pleasing combination of cherry and brandy flavors on the swallow. Indeed, the addition of kirsch to a Sidecar recipe donated a degree of elegance to the mix.