Hurricanes aren’t all bad. Yeah, they’re big, strong, and can knock you on your ass, but that’s half the point, isn’t it? Plus, they’re pretty tasty. If you’re confused, you’ve probably never been to the French Quarter of New Orleans, where Pat O’Briens (among others) serves up hundreds if not thousands of these cocktails a night. A simple yet versatile drink, a Hurricane can be as simple as two ingredients...or as complex you want to make it.
The Simple Hurricane
The original Pat O’Briens Hurricane recipe was only three ingredients: gold rum, lemon juice, and Fassionola syrup. Unfortunately, Fassionola syrup is no longer made (although if you Google around, you can find attempted recreations). That said, a Hurricane is easier than ever to make today, as now it only takes two ingredients:
1: Rum
2: Pat O’Briens Hurricane Mix
That’s it. Just mix, shake with ice, and add in an orange slice or a cherry as a garnish. But if you have a more discerning palate and are looking for something a bit more complex, well, the Hurricane still has you covered.
The Category 5 Hurricane
If you want to do your Hurricanes real justice, you’re going to need a few more ingredients. First, one rum won’t be enough. You’ll want both a light and a dark rum, and you can play around with different options here (white rum, gold rum, spiced rum, etc) to see what suits your tastes. Second, no premixes. You’ll need passion fruit juice, orange juice, grenadine, and lemon or lime juice. Depending upon your tastes, you may want to add some simple syrup for additional sweetness, although it depends on the rum you’re using and the ratio of your fruit juices. A good rule of thumb is equal amounts of rum and fruit juice, and a majority of your juice being of the passion fruit variety.