Another Lifetime Ago,I Worked On A-10's. I May Have Worked On That Second Plane,956,in England. Would

Another lifetime ago,I worked on A-10's. I may have worked on that second plane,956,in England. Would love to see the tail so I could see if it was an '81 model.

A-10C

Here's a classic.

Victor “Trader Vic” Bergeron was responsible for creating some of the most iconic Tiki drinks. The Mai Tai(the most iconic of Tiki drinks),the Scorpion,and the Fogcutter. Well,I finally got around to picking up a bottle of sherry,and was able to mix this classic drink.

Originally called the Samoan Fogcutter(and still called that at Trader Vic's locations),some folks try to attribute it to Donn Beach because of his association with Edna Earle's Fog Cutter restaurant. But Vic published the recipe in his 1947 Bartender's Guide,well before the restaurant opened.

(A clipping of Edna and her restaurant.)

The name is supposed to indicate that it will clear your mind. But with this potent mix of spirits,Vic's quote is more accurate: “Fog Cutter, hell. After two of these you won’t even see the stuff,”. Due to its strength,Vic had a strict limit of two per customer;his drink menu postcard from the 1940s stated: "What a sneaker - positively only two to a person; really, I don't see why people buy them." It does have serious kick,just one gets the job done,and if you're having two you really want to be home on your couch. The recipe has several variations,usually swapping the amounts of orange and lemon juice,and sometimes the drink is blended. Here is the most common recipe:

Mix #137 Fogcutter

1.5oz light rum 1/2oz gin 1/2oz cognac 2oz orange juice 1oz lemon juice 1/2oz orgeat 1/2oz oloroso sherry

Shake everything except sherry with ice and pour into mug. Float sherry on top.

Very tart and citrus-y. And every bit as strong as its reputation. If you like sour drinks,you'll love this one. Now I know nothing of sherry,I know rum. So I just basically picked up a cheap bottle of Taylor that is supposed to be general use sherry. If I were to do this again(and my recommendation to you),I'd get oloroso sherry,which is sweeter. I'd also use tangerine juice instead of orange to dial down the tartness,but that's just my personal taste. And if you want to be completely authentic,get the proper Trader Vic mug to drink it with.

Enjoy folks. And get your beads ready for next week.

Give ya both barrels.

Oops,missed a Rum Barrel recipe from the Tiki bar Undertow.

Mix #158 Undertow Rum Barrel

2oz Demerara rum 3/4oz gold rum 3/4oz white rum 1oz lime juice 1oz grapefruit juice 1oz pineapple juice 3/4oz honey syrup 5 dashes allspice dram 1 dash bitters

Blend with two cups of ice and pour into mug.

Again,I shook this instead of blending. I did some digging on the 'net and calculated that five dashes was around 3ml of allspice. This was smooth with a touch of citrus and spice. And it had plenty of kick. Nice drink,just don't have more than two or you're going to regret it in the morning.

Avast ye scurvy dogs!

Well,it's a snow day,and I'm watching Yellowbeard,a documentary about the most dangerous pirate in history. The pirate Yellowbeard captured many other galleons, killing over five-hundred men in cold blood. He would tear the captains hearts out and swallow them whole. Often forcing his victims to eat their own lips, he was caught and imprisoned… for tax evasion. So in his honor,I figured I'd play around with my ingredients to come up with a twist on the classic Mai Tai. The result is a drink that any pirate worth his parrot would give both his wooden legs to imbibe. Enjoy!

Mix #130 Yellowbeard's Grog

2oz Pyrat XO Reserve rum 1oz lime juice 1/2oz Pierre Ferrand Yuzu 1/2oz Small Hand Foods orgeat 1/4oz Demerara syrup

Shake with ice,stagger-stagger-crawl-stagger,then pour into upturned skull of someone you don't like. Garnish with Mr Prostitute's moustache and a speared piece of Spam.

A nice sweet/sour riff on the Mai Tai. The Yuzu really shines through.

Farewell me hearties!

Bah Humbug

Ok,Thanksgiving is over,it's black Friday,and now we can start getting into Xmas mode. Here's a tasty cocktail to brighten your spirits,or deaden the pain of shopping.

Mix #105 Winter Fling

4oz apple cider 1oz white rum 1/2oz cognac 1/4oz allspice 1/4oz Aperol 1/4oz lemon juice

Shake with ice and pour into Mai Tai glass.

From Tiki Farm's site comes a Trader Tom creation that is pretty much Yuletide in a glass. It's very cider-y with a spice finish. Delicious,and you can up-gun it with Wray & Nephew Overproof if necessary.

Happy holidays folks! Don't worry,it'll be over soon.

Couple quickies.

Been working on a couple full posts,but they're not ready to be published yet. So here's a pair of mixings to hold you over.

Mix #135 Potted Parrot

2oz light rum 2ox orange juice 1oz lemon juice 1/2oz orange curacao 1/4oz orgeat 1/4oz rock candy syrup

Shake with ice and pour into mug.

Trader Vic created this in 1964 for the opening of his Mexican restaurant Senor Pico. Very citrus-y with a touch of sweet. I used regular simple syrup and upped it to a half ounce since rock candy syrup is super sweet(like 3:1). I also used my Siesta Keys silver rum,whose rums will be featured in an upcoming post. Quite good,and not surprising since the Trader was the master.

Mix #136 Storm the Beach

1oz Demerara rum 1/2oz Plantation OFTD 1/2oz velvet falernum 1/2oz lime juice 1/2oz grapefruit juice 1/2oz cinnamon syrup 2 dashes bitters

Shake with ice,strain into glass with fresh ice. Add lime shell with overproof rum and light.

So,no,I didn't add the flaming lime shell,I'm more interested in the drink than the presentation. This was created by Ryan Welliver,who has an interesting name for a bartender. His recipe calls for cinnamon-cumin syrup,but I just used standard cinnamon syrup. And that's all I pretty much tasted. If you really dig cinnamon,then try this,but I'll stick to drinks where I can actually taste my rum.

Until next time folks,aloha and mahalo.