Hurricane #1 (Round 1) * * *

[Difford's Guide]

Glass: Hurricane ... duh
Garnish: Pineapple wedge & maraschino cherry
Method: Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into ice-filled glass

1-1/2 shots   Bacardi Superior (white) rum
1 shot           Pusser's Navy rum
1 shot           Orange juice
1 shot           Pineapple juice
1/2 shot        Lime juice
1/4 shot        Passionfruit syrup
3/4 shot        Rose's lime cordial

Deviations: I substituted The Kraken rum for Pusser's Navy rum.

This is going to be a long post. There's so much to talk about with this drink.

The Hurricane: so named for the hurricane lamp shaped glass in which it has been served since its creation 75 years ago. There's some dispute as to its origins, so you can choose between 1939 at the Hurricane bar at the World's Fair in New York, or in 1960 at Pat O'Brien's in New Orleans. Frankly who cares, either way it is still a cool looking cocktail.

My introduction to the Hurricane was on the animated series Archer, where a flight attendant asks agent Stirling Archer "Sir, can you find your seat for me?" Archer points toward his seat down the length of the plane. "Yeah, it's over there... can you go find some more Hurricanes for me?" and hands her an empty glass. Priceless.

Today was the perfect day for a Hurricane. It was really hot outside, and I had one hell of a whirlwind of a day: in no particular order, what does a Russian violinist, a visit to the City of Saskatoon Police headquarters, and the local symphony's downtown office have in common? Today it was me. Long story with a happy ending. Buy me a beer and I'll tell you about it.

Here is a look at everything you will need to make a Hurricane. I know what you are asking: where do I find passionfruit syrup? I just happened to find some today while shopping for lamp shades at HomeSense in Stonebridge, Saskatoon. They carry a modest selection of Torani syrups (the kind that your local specialty coffee shop has lined up on the back wall to add flavour shots). This one set me back $8 before tax.

This rendition of the Hurricane was much too tart for my tastes. Lime is the predominant flavour, and the passionfruit syrup, which is characteristic of any Hurricane recipe, was sadly lost at sea - I only caught a glimpse of it before it slipped away in this rum-laced perfect storm. I would have liked to have tasted more passion fruit. And this is coming from a guy who LOVES limes.

I would recommend adding only one third to one half of the prescribed amount of Roses' Lime Cordial (or cut it out altogether), and would encourage the use of a fresh lime, rather than ReaLime. Yes, that stuff is convenient, but it can't compete with fresh stuff.

Nevertheless, despite the tartness it is quite refreshing and the rum for the most part is a hidden player behind the stage. This really shocked me considering I used The Kraken Rum and was certain it would attempt to steal the show.

This drink certainly has a lot of potential. I will definitely make it again with some adjustments to the recipe in order to dial down the lime and give the drink more balance. There's a lot of good stuff in this drink, and every player needs an equal share of time in the limelight. Wait a second...

Explorers Be Warned! Despite its pleasantly fruity sails, this ship is packing a 100-gun punch worth of rum below deck. Before finishing this article I knocked over the empty glass and suffered my first bar glassware casualty. Now I have to go to Walmart and pick up another hurricane glass for $2. Damn. Consider yourself warned: hurricanes are dangerous.