Hurricanes, absinthe and American history

By Katherine

This cup is not a collectible

One reaches a point in life that she simply has enough souvenir glasses, perhaps by 22. So instead of plunking down some hard-earned presidents for a hurricane and the pretty take-home glass at Pat O’Briens, the famed bar that created the cocktail, I had one at a sprawling outdoor cafe down the street from the hotel. Not to be outdone, Greg had his the next day at this outdoor bar on Bourbon Street, right next to the “Gentleman’s Club” that was offering free pole dancing for the ladies. No, I didn’t take them up on their offer, my only true regret in life from the trip.

This drink holder/fish bowl will be cherished for years to come

I’ll pause here to allow you to ponder his expression…

Onto the first history lesson: During World War II whiskey was in short supply, according to the good folks over at Pat O’Brien’s. But rum, well dang, you could get cases of that bad boy. Here’s a snippet from their website:

“In order to purchase just one case of these liquors, liquor salesmen forced bar owners to purchase as much as 50 cases of rum, which was plentiful. In an effort to use the abundance of rum that Pat O’Brien’s acquired, the recipe for the Hurricane evolved with the help of an eager liquor salesman. The name came soon after when a glass shaped like a hurricane lamp was used to serve the fruity rum cocktail.”

See you feel smarter already! While there are hurricane mixes. Here’s what goes into one of the cocktails:

Hurricane

• 2 ounces light rum
• 2 ounces dark rum
• 2 ounces passion fruit juice
• 1 ounce orange juice
• juice of a half a lime
• 1 tbsp simple syrup
• 1 tbsp grenadine
• orange slice and cherry for garnish

Squeeze the lime juice into a shaker with ice, dump in the rest of the liquids and strain into a hurricane glass, or a souvenir fish bowl if you prefer.

Now onto history lesson No. 2. That’s right kids, you get two history lessons and two cocktails this week. If pink drinks aren’t your thing fear not. New Orleans is also known for a drink called the Sazerac, which is fun to drink and say.

It dates back to 1838, which in America is almost prehistoric, making it the “world’s first cocktail.” The owner of a New Orleans apothecary invented it and by 1850 it was the first branded cocktail, according to the Sazerac Company. In the 1870s, absinthe was added and American rye whiskey had replaced the French brandy originally used. You can read more of the history on the company’s site. Here’s their official recipe:

The Sazerac

• 1 cube sugar
• 1½ ounces Sazerac Rye Whiskey or Buffalo Trace Bourbon
• ¼ ounce Herbsaint
• 3 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters
• Lemon peel

Fill an old-fashioned glass with ice. In a second old-fashioned glass place the sugar cube and bitters to it, then crush the sugar cube. Add the whiskey or bourbon to the second glass containing the bitters and sugar. Empty the ice from the first glass and coat the glass with the Herbsaint, then discard the remaining Herbsaint. Empty the whiskey/bitters/sugar mixture from the second glass into the first glass and garnish with lemon peel.

Wait, no picture? We had one at Commander’s Palace, the night we left the camera at the hotel, and had planned to replicate it at home, but Greg wisely decided our liquor cabinet does not need absinthe. Neither does our fish bowl!