Fog Cutter
Entry 6 — A handsome mug full of boozy lemonade and unanswered questions.
Rum, gin, pisco, citrus, orgeat, and a cream-sherry float assembled in one of the favorite mugs in the house. With that cast, the Fog Cutter promised a crowded stage; in practice, lemon took the lead and several expensive supporting actors waited politely in the wings.
The Build
- Fresh lemon juice
- Fresh orange juice
- Homeade Orgeat
- Pisco Control
- Jackelope Gin
- Probitas rum
- Fairbanks Cream Sherry
Flash-blended with crushed ice and agitator cubes, open-poured into a Fog Cutter mug, and finished with the sherry float. Jeff stirred the sherry into the drink to bring more complexity through the full glass.
Jeff’s Thoughts
My first reaction was lemon—exactly as I remembered—with only a hint of gin. Martin Cate’s version uses pisco where Trader Vic used brandy, and I may prefer the brandy version; that comparison belongs on the future research list. Stirring in the sherry improved the complexity, but the drink still did not deliver as much dimensionality as its rum-gin-pisco résumé suggested. I did not dislike it. I started at 2.5, then raised the final score to 3.0 as dilution let more orange emerge. The mug, meanwhile, remained an absolute 5.
Stasi’s Thoughts
I get lots of lemon. It’s bright and citrusy, which should cut through the fog. After a couple of these, you probably won’t see the fog anyway. To me, it’s boozy lemonade.
The Ratings