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Fluffy Duck

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (76)
Fluffy Duck image
Measurements in:
Serves:
1
Ingredients
1 fl oz Hayman's London Dry Gin
1 fl oz Advocaat liqueur
2⁄3 fl oz Cointreau L'Unique triple sec liqueur
2⁄3 fl oz Orange juice (freshly squeezed)
1 fl oz Thomas Henry Soda Water

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

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How to make

Glassware

Serve in a Collins glass

Prepare

  1. Select and pre-chill a COLLINS GLASS.
  2. Prepare orange slice for garnish.

Method

  1. SHAKE first 4 ingredients with ice.
  2. STRAIN into ice-filled glass.
  3. TOP with soda.

Garnish

  1. Garnish with orange slice.

Flavour Profile

No alcohol
Medium
Boozy
Sweet
Medium
Dry/sour
More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Health & Nutrition

Nutrition:

One serving of Fluffy Duck contains 198 calories

Alcohol content:

  • 1.4 standard drinks
  • 14.43% alc./vol. (28.87° proof)
  • 20.1 grams of pure alcohol

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

  • Advocaat liqueur — Eggs

Hazardous ingredients

Recipe contains the following hazardous Ingredients:

Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

History

I'm indebted to Louise Zedda-Sampson, a fellow Discerning Drinker, who shared an advertisement from the Wednesday 15th December 1971 edition of the Potts Point, New South Wales, Australia newspaper which suggests that the Fluffy Duck cocktail was created at the Cauldron Bubbles restaurant on Farrel Avenue in Darlinghurst.

Cauldron BUBBLES
Some of our very best things here at the Cauldron have been arrived at by a process of evolution, rather than any kind of recipe. We have just perfected a beautiful cocktail, which we call the Fluffy Duck. The recipe?

Over ice mix 1/3oz. Gin, 1/3oz. Bacardi, 1/3oz. Vodka, a big dash of Advocat and a freshly squeezed orange. Shake well and strain into a cocktail glass.

All through the year, the Cauldron is noted for the fact that except for Mondays we are always open. Well, greatly daring, we have decided to close for two days - Christmas Day and Boxing Day, but our Christmas Eve special menu will be a perfect start to The Festive round.

Beginning with Smoked Salmon, the main course is Filet de Boeuf Wellington, a truly magnificent dish - the whole Filet, smothered in spiced vegetables and baked whole, in a puff pastry crust. We will serve it with Pommes Parisienne, and garden fresh vegetables. Dessert is Creme a la Orange - mouthwatering don't you think? Worth a trip to Farrell Avenue at the Top -of the Cross? Wise to book - .31-1523.

We want to wish all our patrons and friends (and the former almost inevitably become the latter) all the happy things of the Christmas season and we hope to bring you even better food and more Fluffy Ducks in the year to come.

See you,
John & Bruce.

Potts Point newspaper, 15/Dec/1971



There are few references to the Fluffy Duck in cocktail books but I did find a recipe in Helen Spence's 1985, Cocktails For Two.

FLUFFY DUCK
Into an ice-filled glass pour two parts gin, two parts advocaat, one part Cointreau and one part orange juice. Stir in soda water to top up and serve with straws.

Helen Spence, Cocktails For Two, 1985

Review

Light, creamy and easy drinking. Gin prevents this particular duck from being too fluffy.

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$2.55 per cocktail*

Makes a minimum of 18.5 cocktails.
Shipping and applicable tax calculated at checkout.


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Comments & Discussion

Guy Daniels Premium Member
Made this Christmas Day at the request of my mother… but i subbed the soda water for leftover breakfast fizz…. Memories of the 70s flooding back! The family loved it.
score: 1
peter holmes Premium Member
Renewed my acquaintance with this drink this weekend and the diet is out of the window and I will chastise myself on Monday. I have added a couple of dashes of orange bitters too "orange out". I also have Fentimans Valencian orange tonic. Will try with this to see if the drink becomes too bitter. I do not have too sweet a tooth so this may work. Will report back on my findings. If this works could it be a Flucky Duff?
score: 2
eddie richards Premium Member
I vaguely recall Warninks Advocaat being on TV at Christmas Time when I was a kid & I decided to try it for the first time in some seasonal cocktails. My version of the Fluffy Duck keeps all the ingredients & ratios the same except I substituted Fever Tree Blood Orange Soda which not only gives the drink an added orange zing but a lovely pale orange layer above the heavier Advocaat mix. Try it! Since mine could be considered a riff on the original I called it the Ducky Fluff :)
score: 2
Louise Zedda-Sampson
I have found a reference for the first Fluffy Duck here in Australia, although slightly different. I enjoy reading the histories on your site - cocktail origins are fascinating. Here's something in return.
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/263972985?searchTerm=%22fluffy%20duck%20%22%20cocktail
score: 2
Simon Difford Verified User Premium Member
Many thanks, Louise. I've added a quote from the newspaper above. This suggests Fluffy Duch was served straight-up in a cocktail glass. However, the other vintage quote I've found suggests a long cocktail with soda. I wonder which came first - the fluffy duck or the egg? Be interesting to see what else turns up. Thanks again.
score: 3
Simon Bennetts
When I was working my way through Uni in the mid seventies, the head barman would pour the ingredients straight into an old fashioned glass. The trick I discovered was to add the other liquids first and then slowly pour the Advocate in on top of it. If you do it the other way around you end up with a gluey mess. There was no time for Cocktail shakers, so the whole thing was stirred rapidly with a straw, then topped up with lemonade or soda, which worked surprisingly well.
score: 1

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Difford’s Shop logo
$2.55 per cocktail*

Makes a minimum of 18.5 cocktails.
Shipping and applicable tax calculated at checkout.


Orders are processed by a licensed Fulproof retailer. The buy now button is added simply for convenience.

Checkout

* May not include all ingredients. Price per cocktail is an estimate based on cost of one cocktail with ingredients shown above and does not include shipping.

Visit Difford’s Shop USA

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