Hurricane Cocktail

The secret to this classic New Orleans cocktail from Kingsley chef Roxanne Spruance is the rum-trifecta. The different aromatics, alcohol proofs and colors of the dark rum, light rum and the 151 rum give this party cocktail more depth. Slideshow: More New Orleans Cocktail Recipes

Ingredients

• 2 ounces dark Jamaican rum
• 2 ounces light rum
• 1.5 ounces passion fruit puree
• 1 ounce fresh orange juice
• 1 ounce lime juice
• 1/2 ounce demerara sugar
• 1/2 ounce grenadine
• Crushed ice
• 151 Rum, for serving
• Orange slice and maraschino cherry, for garnish

How to Make It

In a cocktail shaker, shake the dark rum, light rum, passion fruit puree, orange and lime juices, sugar, grenadine and crushed ice until combined. Strain the mixture into a hurricane glass filled with more crushed ice. Top with a splash of 151 Rum and garnish with the orange slice and cherry. Serve immediately.

Hurricane Cocktail

Ingredients (8)

• Ice
• 2 ounces dark rum
• 1 1/2 ounces white rum
• 2 ounces freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1 ounce passion fruit syrup
• 1 teaspoon grenadine syrup
• Orange wheel, for garnishing

The Hurricane may have been around before Pat O’Brien’s French Quarter Bar began serving it in the 1930s, says cocktail expert Rob Chirico, but it was that New Orleans institution that gave the drink its notoriety. This recipe won’t yield the 26-ounce Hurricane concoction that Spring Breakers stumble around with on Bourbon Street, but a smaller (yet still dangerously and deceptively potent) cocktail.

What to buy: Torani makes a passion fruit syrup that’s pretty widely available.

For appetizer and dinner inspiration, see our collection of Mardi Gras recipes.

The Hurricane

A Traditional New Orleans Cocktail

Nobody in New Orleans enjoys a Hurricane – unless it’s the bright red variety served in a tall glass and garnished with orange slices and cherries. The local favorite was created at Pat O’Brien’s bar – one of the greatest foundations of French Quarter libations. The name of the drink came from the shape of the glass it’s served in – the iconic curved glass resembles a hurricane lamp. The perfect place to have one is still at Pat O’s in the legendary courtyard overlooking the flaming fountain, but you’ll find them elsewhere around the city as well. But be sure to exercise caution – while these drinks are sugary-sweet, they pack a category-5 punch.

Traditional Hurricane Recipe:

• 2 oz light rum
• 2 oz dark rum
• 2 oz passion fruit juice
• 1 oz orange juice
• ½ oz fresh lime juice
• 1 Tablespoon simple syrup
• 1 Tablespoon grenadine
• Garnish: orange slice and cherry

Shake all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and strain into a Hurricane glass filled with ice. Garnish with a cherry and an orange slice.

Pat O' Brien's Hurricane Recipe:

• Mix 4 oz. of Pat O'Brien's Rum or any good dark rum with 4 oz. Pat O'Brien's Hurricane Mix
• Fill 26 oz. glass with crushed ice
• Garnish with a slice of orange and a cherry

Mix can be purchased at Pat O'Brien's (800) 597-4823 or by visiting: www.patobriens.com.

Your monthly guide to NOLA's foods, drinks, music and more

Get the LOCAL Perspective!

Get travel tips, find hidden gems, and get insider information from the Official New Orleans Newsletter

Thank You For Signing Up!

You are now subscribed to our New Orleans e-newsletter and we'll send you the news each month. You can unsubscribe at any time directly from any mailing.

Thanks again for your interest in New Orleans and best wishes for a memorable visit!

Hurricane Cocktail: The Original Tropical Rum Recipe

• 5 mins
• Prep: 5 mins,
• Cook: 0 mins
• Yield: 1 Cocktail (serves 1)

The Hurricane is one of those iconic tropical cocktails that you should know and will never forget. It is a fun rum drink that is filled with fruit juices and is actually quite easy to make.

The Hurricane became popular at Pat O'Briens bar in 1940's New Orleans. The story behind the drink says that it debuted during the 1939 World's Fair in New York City and was named after the hurricane lamp-shaped glasses that the first drinks were served in (still known as a hurricane glass).

It is also said that O'Brien created the heavily rummed drink as a means to get rid of the large stock of rum his Southern distributors forced him to buy.

You can still get a great Hurricane at Pat O'Briens in NOLA or any of their other locations in the U.S. or you can make it at home with this recipe. I have done both and, beyond the atmosphere, it is the same great cocktail.

What You'll Need

• 2 ounces rum (light)
• 2 ounces rum (dark)
• 2 ounces passion fruit juice
• 1-ounce orange juice
• 1/2 lime (juice of)
• 1 tablespoon simple syrup
• 1 tablespoon grenadine

How to Make It

1. Squeeze juice from half a lime into cocktail shaker over ice.
2. Pour the remaining ingredients into the shaker.
3. Shake well.
4. Strain into a hurricane glass.
5. Garnish with a cherry and an orange slice.

How to Find Passion Fruit Juice:

The one issue that many people have when making this drink is finding passion fruit juice. It is not one of the most popular juices on the market, though there are a few options.

Your best option is to juice fresh passion fruit. They are not always in season, though, so take advantage of that opportunity when it comes.

You may have to search a little harder for commercial brands: January and Goya are two popular options that do produce passion fruit juice. I've also had luck in the natural foods and international departments and stores. Sometimes you can find it frozen.

Another option is passion fruit nectar - it's slightly sweeter but not as sweet as passion fruit puree and you can easily add some water to get it juicier.

A tropical mixed juice would be another viable option, particularly if it concentrates on passion fruit. It is typically mixed with pineapple and orange and, though it wouldn't be the 'original' recipe, it does make a good drink as well.

How Strong is the Hurricane?

Dark rum can vary in strength and the range goes anywhere between 80 and 151 proof. For the sake of this example, let's assume that an 80 proof is used for both the light and dark rums.

If that is the case, then the Hurricane averages out to have an alcohol content of about 18% ABV (36 proof). It is not the strongest drink and it is not the lightest. To put the Hurricane in perspective, the Manhattan is 60 proof and the Mojito is about 26 proof.

Hurricane drink recipes

Pour all but the juices, in order listed, into a hurricane glass three-quarters filled with ice. Fill with equal parts of grapefruit and pineapple juice, and serve.

Pour gin, rums, amaretto, and triple sec into a hurricane glass with ice. Add equal amounts of grapefruit juice and pineapple juice until almost full. Top with grenadine to taste.

Pour over ice into a hurricane glass, and stir. Garnish with an orange peel.

Combine all ingredients, mix well (shake or stir). Pour over crushed ice in hurricane glass. Best enjoyed through a small straw. Garnish with fruit wedge if desired.

Hurricane

A major part of New Orleans life, the Hurricane is an intense mix of fruit and dark, soft, tasty rum, ideal as a party drink or punch.

About this recipe

Ingredients

Captain Morgan® Original Rum

Captain Morgan® Original Rum

Derived from Caribbean sugar cane, Captain Morgan Original Rum is blended according to an age-old recipe to give an intense dark colour and mellow, the rounded caramel and vanilla notes that make it recognised around the world.

How to make

Using a jigger, pour 25ml Captain Morgan Original Rum, 25ml lime juice, 10ml passion fruit yellow syrup and 50ml pineapple juice into the shaker.

Shake the mixture vigorously until the surface of the cocktail shaker feels chilled.

Using a cocktail strainer, strain the cocktail into a tall glass over ice cubes.

With a chopping board and sharp knife, cut an orange wedge and place in the drink to garnish.

Water, Water

Don’t snub good old H20. Stay refreshed by drinking water between drinks.

Hurricane Cocktail Recipe

No Mardi Gras celebration would be complete without enjoying a classic Hurricane Cocktail in New Orleans.

The drink know to most tourists in New Orleans is the Hurricane Cocktail. During celebrations (and celebrations seem to be every night in the New Orleans French quarter), tourists carry their “to go” hurricane drinks with them. In New Orleans, you can carry your drink out of a bar and down the street, even into another bar. Hurricanes are also the cocktail of choice during Mardi Gras, when thousands come to parade and party.

Pat O’Brien’s is an icon of the French Quarter, a location to which nearly every tourist seems to make a pilgrimage.

Pat O’Brien’s Hurricane glass is one of the most sought-after souvenirs in New Orleans and servers at Pat O’Brien’s will helpfully box yours to go when you are finished with your drink. The offer you a refund if you turn in your empty glass at the counter. If you take it with you, an attendant outside the restaurant will package it in a cardboard holder for safekeeping.

This boozy rum-based drink will get the party started no matter where you are.

Hurricane Cocktail History:

1930s – During the prohibition of the 1930s, the bar was a speakeasy known as “Mr. O’Brien’s Club Tipperary”. One of many speakeasies in New Orleans, whose doors opened only to the select few who knew the password. In 1933, B. H. “Pat” O’Brien moved his “club” across the street and called it “Pat O’Brien’s”.

1940s – The hurricane cocktail was made famous by Pat O’Brien’s French quarter bar in the 1940s. Other restaurants and bars now serve this drink but it has become synonymous with Pat O’Brien’s. This signature cocktail is a potent fruit punch drink that is served in a special hurricane lamp glass in New Orleans.

The drink was created during World War II, when liquor such as whiskey was in low supply and bar owners were forced to order large amounts of rum in order to get their quota of whiskey. Through trial and error, they came up with a drink that everyone loved! Pat O’Brien paired it up with a glass shaped like a Hurricane lamp and the drink was perfected!

Hurricane Cocktail Recipe:

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Yield: 1 serving

1 ounce fresh-squeezed lemon juice or lime juice (your choice)

4 ounces dark rum

4 ounces passion fruit syrup

Orange and/or lime slice

NOTE: To really save time when make a Hurricane Cocktail, order one of these Hurricane Cocktail Mixes from What's Cooking America's Amazon Store.

In a cocktail shaker, add lemon juice, rum, passion fruit syrup, and crushed ice; shake vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes.

Strain into a hurricane cocktail glass, Tiki Mug, or tall Old Fashion Glass.

Garnish with an orange and/or lime slices and a maraschino cherry. Serve with a long straw.

Hurricane Cocktail

Need to add a little life to the party? This wonderful HURRICANE COCKTAIL will surely do it!

I love serving up a cocktail that is fun and maybe even a little nostalgic like this one. This Hurricane Cocktail will get you rave reviews at any dinner party, backyard barbecue, or just having friends over. Some recipes call for passion fruit syrup or simple syrup in addition to the grenadine, but I left that out and used passion fruit juice instead. This helped keep the cocktail from becoming too sweet. Adding in the grenadine will result in a little-added sweetness but more importantly this wonderful color.

I know you want to grab that cherry!! They are still maraschino cherries but are not dyed the usual bright red colour. The combination of two different rums along with orange juice, passion fruit juice, grenadine and lemon juice make the most delicious of cocktails. Topping them off with a simple slice of orange and cherry makes them extra special. Your company will think you’ve gone the extra mile in serving these up!!

Where did this cocktail originate? Well according to Wikipedia it was first born in New Orleans. Pat O’Brien, a tavern owner came up with this drink, to try and get rid of the excess rum that he was forced to buy. He wanted to have the more popular liquors of whiskey and scotch but had to purchase rum to be able to get those. Serving up his concoction, which he gave away to sailors, pouring it into hurricane lamp-shaped glasses. The drink caught on and is a mainstay in the French Quarter of New Orleans to this day.

• 1.5 oz. spiced rum
• 1.5 oz. white rum
• 6 oz. orange juice
• 4 oz. passion fruit juice
• 2 oz. grenadine
• 1 oz. lemon juice
• Orange slices
• Maraschino cherries

1. Mix up the rums, orange juice, passion fruit, grenadine and lemon juice in a small pitcher and stir. Fill two small hurricane glasses with ice (or one large hurricane glass) and pour in the cocktail. Stir and garnish with the orange slices and maraschino cherries.

Another fun summer cocktail for us over at Noshing With The Nolands is this delicious Peach Blueberry Sangria. It is easy to make and even easier to drink.

Post navigation

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

one response

I want this NOW! Looks awesome and all that fruits…beautiful pics and you’re making me very thirsty! Can you share some more cocktail recipes?

Cocktail Recipe: The Original Hurricane

A Hurricane is a bit like a Long Island Iced Tea — you can order one almost anywhere, but you never know quite what you're going to get.

This year, for Mardi Gras, do yourself a favor and sample the original (and, in my opinion, best) version of this classic New Orleans cocktail. A true hurricane does not contain grenadine, pineapple juice, or vodka. It is not made from a mix. It is not served in a giant plastic cup. The original hurricane had three ingredients: dark rum, passion fruit syrup, and lemon juice. That's it.

The hurricane, like all good cocktails, has its origin myth. As the story goes, when Pat O'Brien's, the legendary New Orleans bar, opened its doors post prohibition, there was a serious glut of rum on the market. Forced by liquor wholesalers to order a case of rum with every case of other kinds of spirits, the owners had to get creative, and the hurricane was born.

It's a wonderfully simple little drink, essentially a rum sour with passion fruit syrup as the sweetening agent. (It's also quite different, I can attest, from the hurricanes being served at Pat O'Brien's in our modern era.) All that syrup makes this quite a sweet drink, but the lemon juice holds it in balance nicely, and the rum gives it a molasses-y kick. Laissez les bons temps rouler.

1 oz passion fruit syrup

1 oz fresh-squeezed lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in a shaker over ice. Shake and strain into an ice-filled glass. (The original recipe calls for crushed ice, but I prefer this with cubed, since the drink doesn't get diluted as quickly.) Garnish with an orange slice and cherry.

So what if you want to make a whole pitcher of hurricanes? I'm glad you asked.

The Original Hurricane (pitcher drink recipe)

1 bottle (750 mL) dark rum

1 1/2 cups passion fruit syrup

1 1/2 cups fresh-squeezed lemon juice

Combine all ingredients, including the ice, in a pitcher. Stir to mix the ingredients. Allow to sit for at least 15 minutes before serving to allow the ice to melt into the drink. Prepare for a good party.

P.S. Having trouble finding passion fruit syrup where you live? You can always order it on Amazon.

• Calories 131
• Fat 0.1 g (0.1%)
• Saturated 0 g (0.1%)
• Carbs 30.4 g (10.1%)
• Fiber 0.1 g (0.4%)
• Sugars 20.4 g
• Protein 0.1 g (0.2%)
• Sodium 12.5 mg (0.5%)

Nancy Mitchell will always love New Orleans. You can find more recipes and musings on her blog, The Backyard Bartender.

Submit a story

Got a tip, kitchen tour, or other story our readers should see?

Hurricane Cocktail

A funny thing has been happening in my head for the past few weeks, I have been dreaming about Hawaii again! I’m not sure if it’s boredom, severe allergies bringing me down, or the Sudafed induced fog that I have been in… but I have been daydreaming about the sand, surf, and delicious foods that you only find in Hawaii. Yes, I do realize that the Hurricane Cocktail was created in New Orleans not Hawaii…..

but it is fruity and tropical and Hawaii gets hurricanes just like New Orleans. There is nothing more terrifying that being trapped on an island surrounded by water with a hurricane heading right toward you. The next time that happens, I plan on having a Hurricane Cocktail in my hand to calm my nerves, LOL

There are a million different ways to make a Hurricane Cocktail, but this version seems to be closest to the original that was created by Pat O’Brien back in the 1940’s. He apparently needed to create a new drink to help him get rid of all of the less-popular rum that local distributors forced him to buy before he could get a few cases of more popular liquors such as scotch and other whiskeys. He poured the concoction into hurricane lamp–shaped glasses and gave it away to sailors. The drink caught on and has been famous in the French Quarter ever since.

You can buy the official Pat O’Brien’s Hurricane Cocktail mix, but it is so simple to make yourself, why bother? 😉

Place all ingredients into a cocktail shaker…..

Fill with ice and shake to combine.

Pour Hurricane Cocktail into a Hurricane glass and fill glass with ice. Garnish with an orange slice and cherry and serve…..

This Hurricane Cocktail seems tame at first with it’s fruity flavors, then turns into a full-blown Category 5 if you let your guard down! I do not suggest drinking more than one, and make sure you eat first!!

• These are the Hurricane Glasses that I used, just in case you need your own.
• The first time I made these Hurricane Cocktails I was able to buy Ceres Passion Fruit Nectar, now I can’t seem to find it anywhere…which is a bummer. So I grabbed this Goya juice at the grocery store. It’s not pure juice, but it’s the closest thing that I can get…and they don’t sell fresh passion fruit at the grocery store.

I have some Hawaiian recipes in the works to share with you, including a fun date night meal for two so we can all dream about a Hawaiian vacation…not just me. 🙂

Until then, check out these other tropical cocktails…..

Hurricane Cocktail

Ingredients

• 2 Ounces light rum
• 2 Ounces dark rum (I used Meyer's)
• 2 Ounces passion fruit juice
• 1 Ounce orange juice
• 1/2 Ounce lime juice
• 1 Tablespoon simple syrup
• 1 Tablespoon grenadine
• orange slice and cherry (to garnish)

Directions

This recipe will be partying at these link parties!

Related Posts

Reader Interactions

Your hurricane cocktail looks delicious! We’ll be sharing the post and featuring this at this week’s Brag About It Party.

Thank you so much Beverly!

I’d love to try this out, but I live in a small city and can’t find Passion Fruit juice or Goya. Guess I’ll have to experiement with some others.

How do find those glasses holding up? Are they are they pretty sturdy? I had some similar glasses but every single of them cracked starting at the top rim. Grrr

That was the same problem that I had when I lived in Iowa, I couldn’t find passion fruit juice anywhere. 🙁 My glasses are holding up really well, but I don’t use a dishwasher, I only hand wash them.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Primary Sidebar

Find a Recipe

Popular Recipes

Hi, my name is Lisa and I love to cook. Sometimes healthy, sometimes indulgent, always delicious! Come join me for a cooking adventure that will have you drooling and learning some cooking tips along the way. Read More…