any difference between a Fog Cutter and a Samoan Fog Cutter

On page 36 of the Grog Log is the recipe for a Fog Cutter. Is this the exact same thing as the Samoan Fog Cutter that is listed on the contemporary Trader Vic's menus?

When I went to the Beverly Hills TV, they made it in a blender, whereas the Grog Log describes it as shaken.

All Fogcutters are the same, but different, like all Polynesian potions. The Trader Vic's is a good one for sure, but the Tony Ramos one, which the Bum uses for his Grog Log I believe, was the best Polynesian cocktail I ever tasted.
There is a nice thread here somewhere discussing the blender vs. shaker vs. TOP mixer method of drink preparation.

Which one do you like better?

I think Samoan Fog Cutter sounds better..... but that is just me.

As far as recipe? No, there shouldn't be any difference in the drink, it just depends on where you had it last as your basis of comparison.

Was the Fog Cutter, Samoan or otherwise, created by Victor Bergeron or one of his colleagues working for him?

A bit of Googling answered my own second question.

There is a bit of historic discrepancy as to who really invented the Fogcutter. Trader Vic is generally given credit for the Fogcutter, as his recipe appears on "Trader Vic's Bartender Guide" (1947) and on the "Grog Log". This recipe contains a float of sherry.

However, Tony Ramos, the well known barman, recalls that the Fogcutter was a signature drink at a Hollywood and La Brea bar called Edna Earle's Fogcutters, where it is named for a diving knife. This contains a float of cherry brandy.

Trader Vic's Fogcutter
2oz light Puerto Rican rum
1/2oz gin
1oz brandy
1oz orange juice
2oz lemon juice
1/2oz orgeat syrup
1/2oz sherry

Shake and strain into large glass of crushed ice (or vase as you will get in Trader Vics), float with sherry. Add mint.

Edna Fogcutters (by Tony Ramos)
1oz white rum
1/2oz gin
1/2oz brandy
1/2oz sweet and sour mix
2 dashes simple syrup
float of cherry brandy

Combine with ice and blend. Pour in goblet, float cherry brandy.

You can find this information on the book, "Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails" by Ted Haigh, aka Dr Cocktail.

I still don't know if there's any difference in the contemporary Samoan Fogcutter and the old TV Fogcutters.

The Trader Vic's Fog Cutter recipe is the same in the '47 and '72 Bartenders Guides. The Samoan Fog Cutter is only in the '72 book. It is the same as the Fog Cutter, except that it has 1-1/2 oz. of rum, not 2; it has 1/2 oz. brandy, not 1. So, it probably tastes similar, but it's 1 oz. weaker..., which, I presume, is compensated for by the more evocative name.

Thanks Limbo Lizard for answering my question!

In any version this still remains one of my favorite Tiki drinks to date..

The viking Fogcutter, is as they say around these parts, "The Mutts Nuts".

In the Ted Haigh book, there's the Ramos recipe, and an early "Fogcutter" version by Don the Beachcomber :

1/2 ounce orgeat
2 onces Bacardi Gold rum
1 ounce Pisco Brandy
1/2 ounce Plymouth gin
1/2 ounce Gonzales sucis sherry (subst cream sherry)
1 ounce fresh orange juice
2 ounces fresh lemon juice

shake. Float sherry.