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War Times Right before the world war began, Victor became Trader Vic from a owner of Hinky Dink's. And the story behind the name of Trader Vic comes from their trip to Havana. "You know, going to the Caribbean today is a matter of a couple of hours, but in those days the Santa Fe train left at Fortieth and San Pablo in Oakland and it went through Texas, Louisiana, and Florida. From there you traveled by boat to Havana. The Trip took one week each way." "La Florida was the famous bar then. Constantino Rapalo was the head man at the time, and I introduced myself and asked him to show me how to make some of his drinks. When I went back to California and tried to make a daiquiri like he had, I couldn't make it." After spending some time to figure out what was wrong with his way of mixing Daiquiri, he found that the essential oil from the lime when squeezing it was going into the squeezer. And he continued to explore the art of mixiology when he was back in Oakland, California. And that's when he and his wife agreed to change the name of the restaurant and the decor. They thought Hindy Dink's was a 'junky name' and that the place should be named after someone they could tell a story about. His wife suggested "Trader Vicıs" because he was always making a trade with someone. During the war times he says, "...we were rationed on scotch, bourbon, and gin. Well, the liquor dealers tried to pull a fast one on the bars and usually it worked. The dealers would try to make the bars buy a case of rum for every case of bourbon they needed. I didn't go for that kind of a deal. All of the other restaurants had hundreds of unused cased of rum in their cellars, but I didnıt. I never had a damned one. We were selling a lot of rum and when we wanted to buy rum, we bought it, but when we wanted to buy bourbon, we bought that. I wouldn't make any phony deals with anybody at any time. I still won't. I goes against my grain." Thatıs how he handled his business for years. Next: Trader Vic's expansion |
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- Who is Trader Vic?- Hinky Dinks - War Times - Business expansion until today |
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"Some I have gathered at their origin and others are my own concoctions."His Cocktail Menu His Original Mai Tai Recipe |
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"Follow the directions and you'll love the results. Watch out for your ulcers."See the recipes |
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See the photos of one of his restaurants in Atlanta, Hilton Hotel and the cocktails. Enter the gallery |
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Special Thanks to: Trader Vic's & Hilton Company | Back to Cocktail Times.com |
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