Hurricane Cocktail

The Hurricane Cocktail was invented at Pat O'Brien's Bar in New Orleans in the 1940's and remains an iconic tropical cocktail. It has Rum, Passionfruit, Orange Juice, and more. This drink has been around long enough to get int he general Tiki Cocktail lexicon, so it's one to have on the menu if you're doing a Tiki night.

That being said, it's also been around long enough to go through a few iterations and modifications over time. So much so that one of the main ingredients, Fassionola, is pretty hard to find these days. This recipe looks to mimic the original flavours without having to find or make your own Fassionola.

It may not be exact, but it's close enough to make a really good cocktail. Have fun.

Total Time 4

Servings 1 cocktail

Ingredients

60 mL White Rum
60 mL Dark Rum
30 mL Lime Juice
30 mL Orange Juice
15 mL Passion Fruit Puree
15 mL Simple Syrup*
1 Tsp Grenadine
Garnish with an orange slice and/or cherry

Instructions

Pour White Rum, Dark Rum, Lime Juice, Orange Juice, Passion Fruit Puree, Simple Syrup and Grenadine into a cocktail shaker with lots of ice. Shake until everything is very cold.
Strain in a Hurricane glass with lots of fresh crushed ice. Crushed ice can be made at home by wrapping it in a towel and hitting it or going over it with a rolling pin.
Garnish, serve, and enjoy.

Notes

*Here's how to make Simple Syrup at home.

The story goes, they say, that this cocktail was create when O'Brien, from Pat O'Brien's bar in New Orleans, was stuck with a large amount of Rum, which wasn't popular at the time. Liquor distributors had forced him to buy the Rum as part of his usual purchase of more popular spirits like Whiskey. Since he wanted to get rid of the Rum, O'Brien concocted the Hurricane as way to get more customers to buy it. And it was a hit!

Even More on the Hurricane Cocktail

The Hurricane is another great Tiki cocktail combines a lot of fruit juices with a fairly generous portion of both White and Dark Rum. Rum with Lime Juice or even Orange Juice juice isn’t that unusual. Passion Fruit in a cocktail is slightly more rare but far from unheard of. It’s the combination of all of these three fruits that work together so very well. There’s come sweetness and some sourness in there that’s just so good.

Beyond all the fruity greatness, the Hurricane is just a great cocktail to look at. Of course the Hurricane isn’t the only Tiki cocktail that’s like this. It’s a bit of a signature of the style. It’s just so much in one: booze, fruit, and good looks. We’re going to go make one of these right now.

Would making two Hurricane Cocktails at once work?

Maybe… you could try it. The biggest challenge with making two Hurricanes at once is this cocktail calls for a good amount of liquid. This cocktail has a lot of Rum in it as well as a lot of juice as well. If you try to put two servings into a cocktail shaker, it may be too much. We’d suggest just making these one at a time.

Can I make a few of these to serve later?

You can make Hurricanes a few minutes in advance, but don’t let them sit too long. Since all that citrus and Passion Fruit is shaken up, it adds a certain texture to the cocktail that just can’t be beaten fresh.

When would you think a Hurricane Cocktail is best?

As mentioned, the Hurricane comes to us from New Orleans, so the Hurricane would go well if you happen to be there. Especially if you happen to be visiting Pat O’Brien’s bar where it was invented.

If you can’t make it to Pat O’Brien’s, this is a great warm weather drink, especially if it’s hot and humid like it often is in New Orleans. The drink is served over crushed ice which makes it very cold and, of course, very refreshing. The perfect beverage for when it’s a bit muggy out.

Finally, while the Hurricane Cocktail is traditionally served in a Hurricane glass, it can also be fun to serve in any number of fun Tiki glasses. If you want an excuse to play with interesting glassware, perhaps it’s time to make a Hurricane!

How strong is the Hurricane Cocktail?

Watch out because this one packs a punch. Although things are pretty well diluted by all the fruit juices in this recipe, plus the melting of the crushed ice, you have 60 mL of White Rum and 60 mL of Dark Rum in there; that’s a fair bit! The Hurricane sits at about twice the amount of alcohol as you’ll find in many other recipes, so drinking one of these would be the same as having two normal cocktails. Plus, since the Hurricane is extremely easy to drink, it’s easy to lose yourself and drink it a little bit too quickly. So yes, the Hurricane is a bit strong. Be careful.

What’s the best kind of music for a Hurricane Cocktail?

This is a pretty easy one! The Hurricane is a New Orleans icon so you need to put it together with music from New Orleans. While New Orleans has varied musical traditions to choose from, we’re going to suggest putting on some New Orleans style Rhythm and Blues. It’s loud, it’s fun, and it’s great to dance to. If you have a couple of Hurricanes under your belt you’ll likely want to get up and dance, so you may as well have the right kind of music playing!

So even if you’re just having a Hurricane at home you can still create a party with the right kind of music. Maybe invite some people over as well so you can really make it a good time.

And then keep the party going with more cocktails

We have lots of cocktail recipes on this site so, if you are having a party, you probably want a few great cocktails to whip up for your friends. Take a look below for some site sections that are in line with the Hurricane theme.

All Tiki cocktail recipes: if it’s a Tiki style party you need plenty of Tiki cocktail recipes. Take a look here for some good ones.

All Rum cocktail recipes: Rum features well in Tiki cocktail recipes as well as a number of other great recipes. Take a look.

All White Rum cocktail recipes: White Rum is a great base for cocktails in general and a great base for some many interesting cocktails. Check out what we have to offer.

All Dark Rum cocktail recipes: as with White Rum, Dark Rum is another great base spirit for cocktails. See what we have here.