Post #680519 by arriano on Sun, Jun 2, 2013 8:00 PM

My latest attempt in recreating an old Bali Hai cocktail is for the Fog Cutter – a classic tiki cocktail, but one that is no longer served at Bali Hai. In trying to recreate old Bali Hai cocktails, I usually compare the listed ingredients from Bali Hai’s menus with other known recipes for those cocktails. In the case of the Fog Cutter, I have recipes for versions from Trader Vic’s, Dobb’s House Luau, Tiburon Tommie’s, and the “other,” unrelated Bali Hai in New Orleans.

The (San Diego) Bali Hai’s Fog Cutter is interesting in both what ingredients it includes, and what ingredients it doesn’t. Like most Fog Cutter recipes that I’ve found, the Bali Hai version includes three spirits: Rum, Gin and Brandy, along with Orange Juice. But while most Fog Cutter recipes also include Lemon (or Lime) Juice and Orgeat, the Bali Hai version apparently excluded both. Instead, it seems to have replaced Lime/Lemon Juice with Pineapple Juice, and subbed Coconut Cream for the Orgeat Syrup. In addition, Bali Hai used Cherry Juice, an ingredient that’s rare in tiki style cocktails, but one that the Bali Hai used in at least one other cocktail, the Planter’s Punch (see entry above).

So without further adieu, here’s my attempt at recreating Bali Hai’s Fog Cutter:

FOG CUTTER
2 oz Pineapple Juice
1 oz Orange Juice
¼ oz Cherry Juice
½ oz Coconut Cream
½ oz Gin
1 oz Brandy
2 oz Light Rum
¼ oz Simple Syrup
Shake with crushed ice in a cocktail shaker and strain into a tall cocktail glass. Add ice to fill.

I first made this cocktail without the simple syrup. It’s not listed among the ingredients, but none of the cocktails listed on the old Bali Hai menus list simple syrup and I’m sure some include it. Without the syrup, there was an odd bitterness to the drink. Adding the syrup helped balance it a bit. Still, while the cocktail is OK, it’s not my favorite of the bunch. If anyone else wants to attempt it, I’d be interested in your opinions.