Hurricane Cocktail
Made famous at Pat O’Brien’s Bar in New Orleans in the 1940s and named after the distinctive glass in which it was served, resembling a hurricane lamp.
The Hurricane Cocktail was not only created at Pat O'Brien's Bar, it was created in fact by Pat O’Brien himself. According to legend, O'Brien was trying to offload a surplus of rum he had been forced to buy from a local distributor, who insisted he purchase large quantities of the liquor. To use it up, O'Brien concocted a fruity, rum-based drink, combining rum with passion fruit juice, lime and orange juice, and a touch of sugar, and served it in a large, curved glass, which came to be known as a "hurricane glass" due to its shape resembling a hurricane lamp. The drink was an instant hit, especially with tourists, and became a New Orleans classic. Its bright, tropical flavors and vibrant color made it a symbol of the city's festive spirit, and it remains a staple cocktail in New Orleans to this day.
The Secret Ingredient
Pat was no dummy. He had a lot of rum he needed to sell, so he wanted to create a cocktail that was distinctive enough that you couldn’t make it home and you couldn’t get it anywhere else. O’Brien reportedly kept the exact proportions of the ingredients under wraps. Since passion fruit juice wasn’t a common mixer at the time, many bartenders and drink enthusiasts were left guessing how to replicate the signature tropical flavor.
Some stories suggest that for years, only O’Brien and a few trusted bartenders knew the exact formula, and the bar didn’t widely advertise the full ingredient list. This secrecy contributed to the Hurricane's mystique. Even today, Passion Fruit Juice isn’t a common product to find. Generally sold as a syrup, however, it is usually available at larger beverage stores or easily purchased online.
Hurrican Cocktail
Made famous at Pat O’Brien’s Bar in New Orleans in the 1940s and named after the distinctive glass in which it was served, resembling a hurricane lamp.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces light rum (like, Bacardi)
- 2 ounces dark rum (like, Myers Dark or Pyrat Reserve)
- 1 ounce orange juice
- 2 ounces passion fruit syrup (like, Liber & Co.)
- ½ ounce fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon simple syrup (or substitute 1/2 tbsp table sugar)
- 1 tablespoon Grenadine syrup (like, Rose's)
- orange wheel, for garnish
- maraschino cherry, for garnish
Instructions
- Fill a Hurricane glass with hard ice.
- In a cocktail shaker, add both rums, the orange and lime juice, the passion fruit, simple and Grenadine syrups and shake thoroughly.
- Add ice to the cocktail shaker, and shake vigorously just five times.
- Pour the Hurricane cocktail into the Hurricane glass and garnish with the orange slice and maraschino cherry, and serve.
Notes
- The term "hard ice" is an old bartender term from the days when a mixologist would use an ice pick on a large block of ice to pick off large chunks of ice to make a cocktail. Today, the term "hard ice" is to distinguish it from "crushed ice" or "shaved ice."
