Post #694285 by arriano on Sun, Sep 22, 2013 1:56 PM

The Bali Hai’s Hurricane is interesting in that the recipe the restaurant uses has been changed at least twice. The earliest version appears to have included Barbados rum and pineapple and lime juices. The second version still had pineapple and lime juices, but Demerara rum was substituted for the Barbados, and coconut cream was added. I decided to try my hand at making both early versions.

HURRICANE (first version)
3 oz Pineapple Juice
1 oz Lime Juice
2 oz Barbados Rum (used Mount Gay)
½ oz Simple Syrup

Add all ingredients into a blender with ice, and blend in high for five seconds. I figured either simple syrup or grenadine should be added. I flipped a coin and used simple syrup. It’s kind of difficult to go wrong with a cocktail like this – pineapple, rum, lime and sugar. How could it not be tasty? But of course it’s nothing like a real Hurricane.

HURRICANE (second version)
2 oz Demerara Rum
2 oz Pineapple Juice
1 oz Lime Juice
½ oz Coconut Cream
¼ oz Grenadine

Add all ingredients into a blender with ice, and blend in high for five seconds. Coconut cream seems like an odd addition for a somewhat iconic cocktail. But bars and restaurants were taking such liberties with the Mai Tai and Zombie that maybe it wasn’t that off the wall. I used grenadine in this one. Not a bad cocktail – sort of a riff on a piña colada.

Try them. Your results may vary. The latest version now on Bali Hai’s menu lists the ingredients as dark Jamaican rum, passion fruit (syrup or juice?), lime juice, and a “mix of berries.” Either by design or coincidence, the latest version is fairly close to Pat O’Brien’s original Hurricane.