The Cocktail Scientist
T H E H U R R I C A N E
INTRODUCTION
The Hurricane cocktail is a popular rum drink that is synonymous with a good time and is easily recognizable by its vibrant red color and garnishes of an orange slice and maraschino cherry. Constructed with two different rums, one light and one dark, the Hurricane cocktail is also a strong drink as it has a significantly high alcohol by volume ratio. Considered a native of Louisiana by way of its birth in the French Quarter in New Orleans, the Hurricane cocktail is now part of American history, and every year thousands upon thousands of people journey to The Big Easy to consume the libation.
Hurricane Cocktail
MATERIALS & METHODS
Traditional Hurricane Recipe (1)
Ingredients:
- Light Rum – 2 oz (60 mL)
- Dark (or Heavy) Rum – 2 oz (60 mL)
- Passion Fruit Juice or Fassionola – 2 oz (60 mL)
- Orange Juice – 1 oz (30 mL)
- Simple Syrup – 0.5 oz (15 mL)
- Lime Juice – 0.5 oz (15 mL)
- Grenadine – 0.5 oz (15 mL)
Directions:
- Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled with ice.
- Shake vigorously for 10 – 15 seconds.
- Double strain into a Hurricane glass filled with crushed ice.
- Garnish with an orange slice and a maraschino cherry. Enjoy!
DISCUSSION
Historical Origin
The author Napoleon Hill once said, “Ideas are the beginning points of all fortunes.” The Hurricane cocktail, which started out as an idea by the original bar staff at Pat O’Brien’s in New Orleans, surely deserves a star on the Hollywood Walk of Cocktail Fame. For decades, the drink has not only been a staple in the French Quarter in New Orleans, but a popular cocktail on menus across the globe. The story of the invention of the Hurricane cocktail begins with Pat O’Brien, who once ran a speakeasy in the 600 block of St. Peter Street in New Orleans’ French Quarter until the repeal of Prohibition in 1933. Later in December of that year he officially opened a bar under his own name. A few years later he moved it one block to 718 St Peter Street where the cocktail bar stands to this very day. But it wasn’t until the mid-1940’s during World War II that the idea of the Hurricane cocktail was conceived. Due to the war, liquor had become scarce, especially domestically produced liquor. Distributors started stockpiling rum because it was plentiful, as the spirit was coming up the Mississippi River unimpeded from the Caribbean islands (2). The copious amount of available rum allowed the distributors to heavily incentivize bars to purchase it to gain access to other spirits. Typically, bar owners would get a bottle of Scotch or Bourbon for buying several cases of rum. The story goes that with General manager George Oechsner Jr. at the helm, the bar staff was experimenting with rum cocktails when they invented the original recipe for the Hurricane (3). The original Hurricane cocktail recipe called for 4 oz of gold rum (preferably Jamaican rum), 2 oz of lemon juice, and 2 oz of Fassionola (a house specialty passion fruit syrup (4). Once the cocktail came to life, bar lore suggests that it was a glass salesman who presented a glass that looked like a hurricane lamp to Pat O’Brien to hold the drink. The drink inherited the lamp’s name, and the world inherited an iconic cocktail.
Flavor Profile
Rum
As previously mentioned, the traditional recipe for the Hurricane cocktail uses multiple rums and the final volume includes an equal dose of 2 oz of 80 proof (40% ABV) light rum and 2 oz of 80 proof (40% ABV) dark rum or heavy rum. The large volume of rum purposely promotes the strength of the cocktail. In fact, in the 8.5 oz cocktail recipe, the cocktail ABV is a staggering 18.8% thanks to this generous fill.
The combination of a light rum, a low congener rum, with a dark rum, a high congener rum, adds to the complexity of the cocktail. The use of heavy congener rum, which is made by aging in charred oak or wooden barrels for a measurable period of time adds richness, intense flavor, and color to the rum. The longer the rum is aged, the darker the rum. The notes that evolve from aging are expressions by chemical compounds called esters. The light rum used in the Hurricane cocktail is generally filtered after fermentation and distillation through charcoal. This process removes the spirit’s color and aromatic properties by affecting its chemical composition and removing esters. The use of the light rum in the Hurricane cocktail allows not only the dark rum to present its aromatic and flavor properties, but also the other ingredients as well.
Additional Ingredients
Juices
Passion Fruit Juice
Passiflora edulis, commonly known as passion fruit, is from South America and is purple in color. While another yellow variety does exist, the purple variety is widely eaten around the globe and it is deliciously tart and aromatic in flavor. The purple variation is also preferred for passion fruit juice because there is a significant difference in the sugar/acid ratio, which is often used as a measure of sweetness. The difference between the purple and yellow varieties are 5:1 compared to 3:8 so that the purple is generally considered to be sweeter than the yellow (5). Thus, passion fruit juice does not only add color to the cocktail but also adds a sweetening property which helps balance the cocktail with the other ingredients that are less sweet.
Orange Juice
The addition of fresh-squeezed orange juice enhances the sharpness of the cocktail. With a pH of 3-4 and with a moderate level of natural sugars, the use of orange juice helps masks the high ABV content in the cocktail. It is important to use freshly squeezed orange juice right away, as it is not pasteurized, and may only have a shelf life of 5 to 23 days (6).
Lime Juice
Lime juice is a natural acidulant. With a pH of approximately 2-3, lime juice is sour and tart in flavor, drawing its sour flavor from the presence of citric acid. The use of lime juice helps balance the other ingredients sweetening flavor profiles.
Simple Syrup
Simple syrup is simply sugar (sucrose) dissolved in water. Used by bartenders across the globe to sweeten cocktails, since it is liquid it blends quickly in cocktails extremely well.
Grenadine
Grenadine is another popular bar syrup that is red in color and routinely used as a sweetener in cocktails. Originally, Grenadine was made from pomegranate juice, sugar and water. Today, commercial-grade Grenadine relies on artificial ingredients to help reduce production costs.
NUTRITION
The Hurricane cocktail has been referred to as the “fruit and sugar bomb” cocktail as it is very flavorful and possesses a significant amount of sugar per fluid ounce. Although not as high in calories or sugar as a Bahama Mama, Bushwacker or Mai Tai, it does have significantly more alcohol than them. With alcohol being a depressant, it is important to understand the effects of alcohol consumption. For example, in lower ABV cocktails alcohol can help reduce anxiety and cause euphoria. However, drinking multiple higher ABV cocktails, like the Hurricane cocktail, may cause drunkenness and stupor, and it is important to understand and to monitor consumption very closely.
NUTRITION FACTS
(Amount Per 1 Fl oz in an 8.5 Fl oz Cocktail)
Calories: 47.7
Total Fat: 0.1 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 1.4 mg
Total Carbohydrates: 5.6 g
Dietary Fiber: 0.1 g
Sugar: 4.1 g
CONCLUSION
Whether enjoyed in New Orleans in the French Quarter, at a cocktail bar, on the beach, or at home in a social setting, the Hurricane cocktail is always accompanied by a good time. Sweet, fruitful, strong, complex, and served in an iconic shaped glass, it’s a cocktail that is both fun in nature and fun in appearance and will remain a classic to be enjoyed for generations to come.
REFERENCES
- NewOrleans.com. (2020). The Hurricane Cocktail. Retrieved from: https://www.neworleans.com/drink/cocktails/hurricane/
- Zavatto, A. (2019). The History and Secrets of the Hurricane. Retrieved from: https://www.liquor.com/articles/hurricane-cocktail/
- Pat O’Brien’s. (2020). Our History. Retrieved from: https://patobriens.com/our-history/
- Senft, P. (2018). Rum Stories. History of the Hurricane. Retrieved from: http://blog.distiller.com/hurricane-cocktail/
- Lancashire, R.J. (2014). The Chemistry of Passion Fruit. Retrieved from: http://wwwchem.uwimona.edu.jm/lectures/psnfruit.html
- Wikipedia. (2020). Orange Juice. Retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_juice
