Hurricane Cocktail

This is a classic cocktail that is fruity and strong with the two star ingredients being rum and passion fruit. With other fruit juices added, this drink comes out like a type of fruit punch, with a big alcohol kick. It is believed that the drink was first created in 1939 at the Hurricane Bar in New York, but was made famous by Pat O'Brien in New Orleans. If you are in the mood for something tropical but are tired of Mai Tai's and Singapore Slings, give this cocktail a shot.

As the story goes, it was difficult to procure whisky during World War II, but the proximity of New Orleans to the Caribbean made rum very easy to get. The Hurricane Cocktail was served in a large glass that was shaped, and named after the old hurricane lamps.

Like other drinks created in the 1930's and 1940's, the recipes have been changed and modified over time. The original Hurricane recipe can be hard to find due to all of the changes. Even Emeril Lagasse, a popular New Orleans chef and TV host, has a version that is just a combination of fruit juices, and the use of passion fruit juice is optional (his recipe calls for grenadine in place of the passion fruit). I believed that the true unique ingredient in a Hurricane is passion fruit, and without it, is just another fruit punch.

Basic Hurricane Cocktail Recipe

1 1/2 oz. each of light and dark rum
1oz. passion fruit syrup
3/4 oz. lime juice

Complex Hurricane Cocktail Recipe

1.5 ounces light rum
1.5 ounces dark rum
1 ounce orange juice
1 ounce fresh lime juice (NOT Rose's or RealLime)
¼ cup passion fruit juice, or 1 tablespoon passion fruit syrup
1 teaspoon superfine sugar
1 teaspoon grenadine
Cherries with stems, and orange slice to garnish
Ice cubes

There is an older recipe for a Hurricane that can be found in vintage cocktail books that is made using Cognac, Absinthe and Vodka.