[Lee Stewart]

The hurricane is a sweet and potent New Orleans cocktail made with rum, lemon juice and passion fruit syrup. The beverage is credited to Pat O’Brien, owner of what was called Mr. O’Brien’s Club Tipperary in 1940s New Orleans, Louisiana, (today, it’s just called Pat O’Brien’s). Because of World War II shortages on imported booze, New Orleans bars needed to buy a certain quantity of Caribbean-made rum from distributors before they could get their hands on the good stuff. O’Brien experimented with the less-than-popular spirit, eventually settling on the sweet concoction we know and love, served in a glass modeled after a hurricane lamp. It became an instant hit and has been a staple in the Big Easy ever since.