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Shark's Tooth No.1 (Trader Vic's)

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (39 ratings)

Photographed in an Urban Bar Sling 11.5oz / 33cl

Ingredients:
1 13 oz White overproof rum (unaged Jamaican/funky)
12 oz Lime juice (freshly squeezed)
12 oz Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
13 oz Monin Pure Cane Syrup (65.0°brix, equivalent to 2:1 rich syrup)
14 oz Monin Grenadine Syrup
2 oz Thomas Henry Soda Water
× 1 1 serving
Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

  1. Select and pre-chill a Sling glass.
  2. Save spent lime shell from juicing for garnish.
  3. SHAKE first 5 ingredients with ice.
  4. STRAIN into ice-filled glass whilst also pouring soda water.
  5. Garnish with spent lime shell.

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol
Medium
Boozy
Strength 8/10
Sweet
Medium
Dry/sour
Sweet to sour 6/10

Review:

Pinky red in colour and heavily influenced by flavoursome overproof rum.

View readers' comments

History:

Adapted from Victor Bergeron's Trader Vic's 1972 Bartender's Guide (revised edition) where he writes, "One of the first drinks we ever made".

SHARK'S TOUTH–1
½ lime
½ ounce lemon juice
1 dash rock candy syrup
1 dash grenadine
1 ounce Ron Rico 151-proof rum
2 ounces club soda
Squeeze lime juice over ice cubes in a 10-ounce pilsner glass; save shell. Add remaining ingredients. Stir well. Decorate with spent lime shell.

SHARK'S TOUTH–2
¼ ounce lemon juice
1 dash passion fruit nectar
¼ ounce French vermouth
¼ ounce sloe gin
1½ ounces Trader Vic's Navy Grog and punch rum
Club soda
Stir all ingredients except soda with ice cubes. Strain into 10-ounce glass filled with shaved ice. Fill glass with soda. Serve with straws.

SHARK'S TOUTH–3
2½ ounces light Puerto Rican rum
1 ounce lemon juice
½ ounce grenadine
Club soda
Stir rum, lemon juice, and grenadine with ice cubes. Strain into 10-ounce glass filled with shaved ice. Fill glass with soda. Serve with straws.

Victor Bergeron, 1972

Nutrition:

One serving of Shark's Tooth No.1 (Trader Vic's) contains 148 calories

Alcohol content:

  • 1.3 standard drinks
  • 12.56% alc./vol. (12.56° proof)
  • 18.5 grams of pure alcohol

Difford’s Guide remains free-to-use thanks to the support of the brands in green above. Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

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Showing 5 comments for Shark's Tooth No.1 (Trader Vic's).
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James Brooke’s Avatar James Brooke
20th June at 16:26
Did Victor Bergeron really spell “tooth” with a U instead of the second O?
2nd March at 22:09
Too sweet for me using Giffard grenadine. Removing the rich syrup is an improvement, one barspoon syrup might be the ideal compromise.
Calvin Grant’s Avatar Calvin Grant
2nd March at 03:25
Plenty of funk with Hamden Estate's Rum Fire! Delicious!
John Hinojos’ Avatar John Hinojos
23rd August 2022 at 01:26
After looking at the comments and original recipe, decided to use 1/2 Rhum Clement Canne Bleue (overproof white) and 1/2 overproof Jamaican Navy rum. The cocktail was not red, but had a good kick to it and wonderful flavours.
Leigh Leppard’s Avatar Leigh Leppard
10th August 2022 at 06:11
Bit disappointing. The soda water watered down the flavours too much so that all you could really taste was the slightly bitter funk of the Wray. Also, there wasn’t enough grenadine to turn it red - just vaguely pink. I reshook with 1/2 oz grenadine instead of a mix of grenadine and rich simple syrup, and reduced the Wray to 1 oz. Better, still not right though. I think it’s because the original recipe calls for a 151 dark rum, rather than Wray overproof.

Won’t make again.
Simon Difford’s Avatar Simon Difford
10th August 2022 at 12:34
Don Beach’s Shark’s Tooth certainly uses aged Jamaican rum – please see the link in “Variant” above. I’ve added Trader Vic’s original recipe which calls for the (I believe) defuncted “Ron Rico 151-proof rum.” Looking at online pics, bottles of this Purton Rican rum appear to be white, gold and dark in colour. How red your cocktail ends up will largely depend on how red your grenadine is.