Fog Cutter

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Fog Cutter

Just the name alone takes me to a dark and foggy night on a ship back in the pirate days. Many of the original tiki cocktails have similar connotations (Painkiller, Navy Grog, Dark and Stormy), but very few are as complex.

The Fog Cutter is a classic cocktail from Victor “Trader Vic” Bergeron and is one of the few tiki concoctions that uses not only rum but also gin, brandy, and sherry. Vic loved the use of lemon in drinks (which is in contrast to Donn Beach, who preferred lime). Don the Beachcomber was the first American tiki bar and opened just after Prohibition ended. Vic Bergeron visited the bar and was so inspired that he revamped his own bar in Oakland and even purchased over $8000 worth of Polynesian artifacts from Donn to decorate it. Vic recreated many of Donn’s drinks but the  

recipes were not easily parted with so Vic used them as a base and tweaked them to his own taste. (Donn’s “Q.B. Cooler became Vic’s world famous Mai Tai). The Samoan Fog Cutter, however, was Vic’s original creation, written about in the iconic 1947 book, Trader Vic’s Bartender’s Guide. At Trader Vic’s, this vintage drink was limited to two per person….. In fact in his Bartender’s Guide he was quoted as saying “Fog cutter, hell. After two of these you won’t even see the stuff.” Martin Cate, owner of Forbidden Island in Alameda, California has his own version and has even registered the name on his car license plate, FGCUTTR. This cocktail is a perfect example of balance- - - the use of rum, gin, brandy AND sherry are tricky if not measured properly. When made correctly all 4 spirits should be present, and the citrus combined with the orgeat adds the classic tropical flavors you expect in a tiki drink. There are many variations of this classic, because of course all of us in the mixing business tend to take an original recipe and change a few ingredients to make it our own. I personally prefer the Trader Vic version, but have included a couple of others that are also delicious.

-Article written by Cris Dehlavi-  

My name is Cris Dehlavi and I am a native of Arizona, but have lived in Columbus, Ohio for the past 13 years with my daughter, Desi. I have been running the bar program at “M”, of the Cameron Mitchell Restaurant group since 2005. I am currently the President of Columbus USBG as well as a consultant for bars and restaurants nationally. In 2013, I attended the rigorous B.A.R. 5 Day Spirits Certification and have been recognized as one of the top mixologists in the U.S.A. I am one of the senior managers of the prestigious apprentice program at Tales of the Cocktail and work as a mentor to many bar tenders around Ohio. My contribution to "Got Rum?" magazine will include everything from reviews of national cocktail events, articles on mixology, garnish trends, recipes and techniques, to interviews with some of the leading bartenders in the industry.