Tag: Brandy

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Modified Scorpion Recipe

After having the individual Scorpion at Trader Vic’s last week I thought I’d revisit this classic at home. This is a prime example of the Trader Vic’s recipe style, featuring both orange and lemon juice, a split base of spirits, and Vic’s signature sweetener, orgeat.

This sometimes comes out too tart, and I’ve long felt that the juicy cocktail needs bolder spirits. So, I did some modifications on the ratios by dropping the orange juice a little and bumping up the orgeat. This was originally made with a lightly aged “white” Puerto Rican rum, but I think that something with more flavor would be better. Look for something bolder like Denizen White, Planteray 3 Star, Hamilton Breezeway Blend, or Myers’s Platinum White. The brandy or cognac is often lost in this and as a richer spirit I want to taste it so I’ve doubled that from what Trader Vic called for.

  • Valencia Oranges are a little sweeter than Navel Oranges and would be recommended for this cocktail.
  • Now with four ounces of spirts, you can feel better about using this Trader Vic’s Scorpion Bowl and maybe even splitting it with someone special.

Scorpion by Trader Vic (modified)
1½ oz Orange Juice
1½ oz Lemon Juice
¾ oz Orgeat
2 oz Brandy or Cognac
2 oz Aged White Rum
Flash blend with 8 oz crushed ice. Dirty dump and top with more crushed ice, garnishing with gardenia, orchid, or citrus wheels. Serve in Mai Tai glass or tiki mug.

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Samoan Fog Cutter Modified

I got this Tiki Tolteca mug at the Alameda Point Antiques Fair (thank you @smuggler_steve), so wanted to make a drink in it. I had a great time visiting Tiki Tolteca in New Orleans in 2018, now sadly shuttered.

The drink was a Samoan Fog Cutter, though I misread the ingredients and ended up switching the ratio of Lemon and Orange Juice. I also used a Cara Cara Orange, so this ended up quite a bit sweeter than it would have been otherwise and I think was a more balanced ratio. I also used a lot more Sherry than what the original recipe calls for and to me is better for it.

I thought this tasted great, and I did find that even the small amounts of Brandy and Gin were providing a more complex blend of noticeable flavors than if this just used light rum.

Samoan Fog Cutter Modified
2 oz Cara Cara Orange Juice
1 oz Lemon Juice
½ oz Orgeat (heavy pour)
½ oz Gin (Beefeater)
½ oz Brandy (Korbel)
1½ oz Light Rum (Trader Vic’s)
1 oz Sherry (Harvey’s Bristol Cream)
Shake ingredients with ice, saving the Sherry for a float.

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Wisconsin Brandy Old Fashioned

This cocktail is featured in this wonderful new book The United States of Cocktails. Each state is given a few pages highlighting key bars, traditions, and of course regional cocktail favorites. The material from California and Hawaii passes muster with me, giving me the confidence that the material from other states is authentic and noteworthy.

The Brandy Old Fashioned is the prototype example that author Brian Bartels has used when describing the book on some podcasts. So, I thought I’d give it a try.

Wisconsin’s Brandy Old Fashioned
2 Cocktail Cherries
1 Orange Slice
¼ oz Simple Syrup
3 Dashes Angostura Bitters
2 oz Brandy
7up Soda
Muddle the fruit, sugar, and bitters. Then add crushed ice and top with brandy. Then float with 7up. Alternatively, use Sour mix in place of 7up, or use half soda and half 7up.



This was pretty good, but I kept sucking up pieces of cherry. So I decided to make a variant with the same flavors but without pulp/fruit.

Wisconsin’s Brandy Old Fashioned (modified)
1 oz Orange Juice
¼ oz Simple Syrup
1 oz Maraschino Cherry Juice
3 Dashes Angostura Bitters
2 oz Brandy
7up Soda
Shake Orange Juice, Bitters, Simple Syrup, and Brandy with crushed ice. Dirty dump into a large glass and top with more crushed ice. Top with 1-2 oz of 7up and then float 1 oz of Maraschino Cherry Juice.

I liked my version better, though neither puts the Brandy as forward as I would like. I didn’t use the regional favorite, Korbel, however.