Hurricane
Two rums, passion fruit, and citrus, shaken and poured into the signature footed glass — the sweet, tropical classic created at Pat O’Brien’s in 1940s New Orleans.
About the Hurricane
The Hurricane is a sweet, fruity rum punch built from two rums, passion fruit, and citrus — poured into the footed hurricane glass that shares its name with the drink. It’s a warm-weather party cocktail through and through, designed to be easy-drinking rather than spirit-forward.
It was created in the 1940s at Pat O’Brien’s bar in New Orleans. During and after World War II, whiskey and Scotch were scarce and rationed, while rum was plentiful; distributors reportedly forced bars to buy several cases of rum for every case of whiskey they wanted. Owner Pat O’Brien and Charlie Cantrell had head bartender Louis Culligan build a new house drink to move that surplus rum, combining it with lemon juice and Fassionola (a sweet, red, passion-fruit-based syrup) and serving it in the hurricane-lamp-shaped glass the bar is still known for today.
As the bar scaled up to serve it by the thousands, the recipe shifted to a premixed batch formula, pushing the drink toward the brighter red, sweeter profile most people associate with it now.
The Classic Recipe
Classic Hurricane — Serves 1
- 60ml light rum
- 60ml dark or aged rum
- 60ml passion fruit juice
- 30ml orange juice
- 15ml fresh lime juice
- 15-30ml simple syrup or grenadine, to taste
- Orange slice and maraschino cherry, to garnish
Method
- Add both rums, passion fruit juice, orange juice, lime juice, and syrup to a shaker with ice.
- Shake well and pour (unstrained is traditional) into a hurricane glass filled with ice.
- Garnish with an orange slice and a maraschino cherry, and serve with a straw.
Tips for the Best Hurricane
- Use two rums, not one. The light-and-dark combination is what gives the classic build its depth — swapping in just one rum flattens it out.
- Real passion fruit makes a difference. Fresh puree or juice gives a brighter, less syrupy result than bottled mixes designed to be poured straight from the bottle.
- Don’t underestimate the strength. With two full pours of rum hiding behind all that fruit, it drinks a lot easier than it actually is.
- Dial back the sugar. Modern craft versions often cut the added syrup or grenadine slightly compared to the sweet, mass-produced bar version.
- Serve it in the glass it’s named for. A footed hurricane glass is part of the presentation and worth using if you have one.
Popular Variations
Galliano-Float Hurricane
Dale DeGroff’s version tops the finished drink with a float of Galliano for a herbal, vanilla-scented finish.
Fresh Fruit Hurricane
Modern craft riffs swap bottled Fassionola for fresh passion fruit puree and cut back on added sugar.
Pineapple Hurricane
Some recipes add pineapple juice alongside or instead of orange juice for extra tropical sweetness.
Frozen Hurricane
Blended with ice rather than shaken, this version is common at high-volume bars and poolside venues.
Where to Buy
The original recipe was built to move surplus rum at a New Orleans bar, and there’s now a bottled mix that ties directly back to it.
Pat O’Brien’s Original Hurricane Mix
The bottled mix from the bar that invented the drink — just add your two rums for a version close to the New Orleans original.
Check price on AmazonMyers’s Original Dark Rum
A rich, molasses-forward dark rum that pairs well with a lighter white rum for the classic two-rum base.
Check price on AmazonHow to Serve
Glass: The footed hurricane glass the drink is named for, though any large tulip-shaped or highball glass works.
Ice: Plenty of it — the drink is traditionally poured unstrained straight from the shaker over a full glass of ice.
Batching for a crowd: Pre-mix everything except the ice in a large pitcher or dispenser and pour to order over fresh ice — this is a classic party-batch cocktail.
Related Database Entries
Explore the key ingredients and spirits in this cocktail: