Fog Cutter

I am very new to tiki drinks, but definitely not new to cocktails in general.

Last weekend I bought Beachbum Berry's books and decided to make some classic tiki drinks to begin exploring an new area of cocktails that I haven't previously explored.

I made his 100 dollar mai tai and fell in love. I literally heard angels singing and have found one of my favorite new drinks.

But, I also made a fog cutter (the original WWII trader vic's recipe) and did not like it. I thought it was way too tart. I followed the recipe to the T and measured everything out. I did make my own orgeat syrup from a recipe in imbibe magazine, but I doubt that would make too much of a difference at .5 ounces and figured it would help rather than hurt the drink.

After the first drink, I switched the amounts of orange juice (2 oz) vs. lemon juice (1 oz). That made it a lot less tart, but it was still pretty one note and boring.

Has anyone experienced this? Any suggestions? Should I try again? Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

Welcome to TC, blueeyedtiki! Good first posting. Make sure you head over to the "Official Introductions/Introduction" thread and introduce yourself.
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=6&forum=1&hilite=new introduction

Good questions about tartness in cocktails, I can relate to your experiences. I noted, long ago, that there can be great variance in tartness of citrus juices. Sometimes I throw out batches of limes or lemons because they are just not working well in my drinks. But, on a side note, also make sure you don't mistakenly use Rose's Sweetened Lime Juice because that is not really lime juice.

The same problem is also true for orange juice from the local supermarkets. Batches of oranges vary widely in flavor and sweetness. Sometimes, in the "off season" when I need a 100% guaranteed "hit" in a drink which calls for fresh orange juice, I will use frozen concentrate mixed with slightly less than the suggested amount of water. This ensures that I don't squeeze a bunch of oranges and still end up with sickly-tasting juice. (For the record, I grow my own, and I find that tree-ripened oranges are most often very well-balanced in flavor and sweetness.) I don't know what it is about mass-produced grocery store oranges, but their flavor often comes up short. I really suspect it is probably because they are picked way too early and aren't allowed to ripen and sweeten naturally on the trees.

Hope that helps.

Remember to go introduce yourself!

In general, I find it helps to roll back on the lime/lemon amount a bit. Several of the recipes found in the Bum's books strike me as somewhat citrus heavy, but he is the MAN for Tiki drinks. Keep at it!

I think the published TV Fogcutter recipe is a bit too tart as well, and I agree it comes off as a somewhat a one-note cocktail compared to many of its Tiki contemporaries It's one I don't mix up very often though, so now I think I will have to revisit it and see if my opinion has changed at all.

Try these other Fog Cutter recipes:

Fog Cutter (Bali Hai, San Diego, CA)
2 oz Pineapple Juice
1 oz Orange Juice
¼ oz Cherry Juice
½ oz Coconut Cream
½ oz Gin
½ oz Simple Syrup
1 oz Brandy
2 oz Light Rum

Shake with crushed ice in a cocktail shaker and strain into a tall cocktail glass. Add ice to fill.

Fog Cutter (Dobb’s House Luau, Anaheim, CA)
1 oz Light Puerto Rican Rum
½ oz Gin
½ oz Brandy
1 oz Orange Juice
1 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
½ oz Orgeat

Shake ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker. Pour into a cocktail glass or tiki mug.

Fog Cutter (Tiburon Tommie’s, Tiburon, CA)
1 oz Fresh Lime Juice
1 oz Lemon Juice
½ oz Orgeat
1 oz Brandy
½ oz Gin
1 oz Light Rum
1 oz Gold Rum

Shake ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker. Pour into a cocktail glass or tiki mug.

Fogg Cutter (Bali Hai, New Orleans, LA)
2 oz Orange Juice
1½ Lime
1½ Simple Syrup
1 Light Rum
1 Dark Rum
1 Brandy
1 Gin
½ tsp Almond Extract

Put it all in a blender with 1 cup of crushed ice and blend on high for five seconds. Pour unstrained into a tall glass.

Thank you for the very informative replies! I will definitely Try out those additional recipes this weekend!

The Samoan Fog Cutter is definitely a superior recipe; I think even the Vic's replaced the old recipe with this one?

If you're new to mixing tiki drinks, though, I'd try a '34 Zombie or a Navy Grog next. You'll be hearing those angels again in no time :)

up the orgeat to 1 oz, cut the lemon down by a teaspooon, make the sherry float a full oz.

great drink, not 1-note at all.

Yeah, I will have to revisit and tweak the TV recipe to personal taste. It gives me a reason to pick up a bottle of Lustau Oloroso, which is nice to have around.

it is quite similar to scorpion, almost identical ingredients but for the sherry float; one is orangey, other is lemony.

dont forget the Viking Fogcutter (make a Samoan, but substitute aquavit for the sherry).

anybody ever try the "Edna Earle's" version some claim to be the original? damn tart and dry...

All this talk about Fog Cutter made me want to have one tonight. I made one and used top shelf liquor but the only sherry I had was cream sherry and it had been siting on the shelf for a good 3 to 4 months so I used it, what can I say, the drink tasted awful, just terrible. I am sure it was the sherry... so I throw it out and made myself a non tiki Sapphire Martini with blue cheese stuffed olives...

On 2013-08-03 10:45, thePorpoise wrote:
dont forget the Viking Fogcutter (make a Samoan, but substitute aquavit for the sherry).

Oh yes, the Viking Fogcutter, thanks for mentioning that! I also enjoy and recommend it. It's also fun because you can regale your guests with the story of how Aquavit is transported in casks aboard a ship, and crosses the equator at least twice, before being bottled.

Late again, but I'm glad that I'm not the only one to reduce the lemon amounts called for in several drinks...especially when introducing new friends to the wonders of our mixology.

Can anyone recommend a type of gin for tiki drinks? I have enjoyed gin in drinks (mixed-no martinis), and that is the extent of my experience with gin:( But I figure I should start learning. I want to try Ray's mistake some day. Any suggestions/guidance would be much appreciated:)

I think you're good using reputable brand London Dry gins for tiki drinks. Using New World gins would have a "softer" effect, and would not match the flavor profile and impact of the London Dry gins. Big assumption on my part is that only London Drys were used by Don, Vic, etc. so someone else could definitely provide better-researched information.

"Traditional" London Drys would be Tanqueray and Beefeater among others.

"New Worlds" would be Uncle Val's and St. Augustine among others.

On 2017-04-16 11:51, AceExplorer wrote:
I think you're good using reputable brand London Dry gins for tiki drinks. Using New World gins would have a "softer" effect, and would not match the flavor profile and impact of the London Dry gins. Big assumption on my part is that only London Drys were used by Don, Vic, etc. so someone else could definitely provide better-researched information.

"Traditional" London Drys would be Tanqueray and Beefeater among others.

"New Worlds" would be Uncle Val's and St. Augustine among others.

Thank you AceExplorer!

On 2017-04-16 09:43, arcadiandj wrote:
Can anyone recommend a type of gin for tiki drinks? I have enjoyed gin in drinks (mixed-no martinis), and that is the extent of my experience with gin:( But I figure I should start learning. I want to try Ray's mistake some day. Any suggestions/guidance would be much appreciated:)

I have a huge bottle of Kirkland Brand Gin. Works perfect.

BTW, I do the Bali Hai (New Orleans) Version Fogg Cutter
2 oz orange juice
1½ oz fresh lime juice
1½ oz sugar syrup
1 oz light
1 oz dark
1 oz brandy
1 oz gin
4ml almond extract (I think this is more than 1/2tsp)

Here in ATL at TV, it's pretty good though the sherry they use definitely makes itself known.

This is a real long shot, but does anyone have a guess at how Tiki Ti makes their Fog Cutter? It might just be my favorite drink out of everything I've tried there, and definitely the reason I haven't managed to make it through my checklist yet.

New to the forum here....

There are a ton of recipes for the fog cutter, but I'd love to know if anyone knows the one the Outrigger in New Orleans used. I saw their menu on KontigoBar's instagram and realized it was another New Orleans Tiki bar. Just throwing it out there on a hope...

I'm going to make a Fog Cutter from the Total Tiki App this weekend. I will post my results.

Try a Suffering Bastard: 1oz. dry gin 1oz brandy 1/2 Roses Lime Juice (Roses is specific to this drink) 2 dashes Angostura bitters 4 oz. chilled ginger beer Shake everything except the ginger beer with ice cubes and pour unstrained into a glass. Orange and mint sprig garnish. This is the original 1942 recipe, however i prefer the Hank Riddle recipe circa 1950's: 3/4oz. Rose's Lime Juice 1/2oz. sugar syrup 1/2oz. gin 1oz. brandy 1oz. Coca-Cola 3 dashes Angostura bitters Enjoy!

The Fog Cutter I made was a success. Very enjoyable drink. I made the Bali Hai At The Beach, New Orleans version per the Total Tiki App. I used fresh juices, Cruzan light rum, Myers Dark rum, Christian Brothers VSPO brandy and Tanqueray gin. I would make it again.

I tried floating amaro Montenegro instead of the sherry and was very pleased with the results.