Since the 1939 World’s Fair in New Orleans, Louisiana, the hurricane has been one of the Crescent City’s iconic cocktails.
The story is that Pat O’Brien created the rummy drink at his eponymous bar in the city’s historic French Quarter to use up the overstock of rum that his Southern liquor distributors required him to buy. If you have one at the original bar at 718 St. Peter St. or the satellite locations in San Antonio, or Orlando, Florida, the drink will come to you in the signature curvy stemmed glass.
When I used to visit New Orleans, however, it was much more common to see French Quarter tourists drinking their hurricanes on the street from plastic “go cups” — the city’s relaxed liquor laws allow open containers in the French Quarter, so long as they aren’t glass.
That’s triply true during Mardi Gras, when tourists, hurricanes in hand, cram into the Quarter to watch the breathtaking parades of various krewes – social organizations whose members spend all year and thousands of dollars preparing for the coming year’s parade. Elaborate floats combine with the din of marching bands and the shouts of “Hey mister! Throw me something!” as watchers seek the beads and other trinkets thrown from the floats. The brightly lit floats and the flambeau torch bearers make those parades almost hallucinogenic.
There’s a krewe for almost every interest, it seems. The Mystic Krewe of Barkus and the Krewe de Paws both celebrate dogs. The Krewe of Muses is an all-female krewe, known for the hand-decorated commemorative shoes, much-coveted Mardi Gras souvenirs, handed out by masked riders. The Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club hands out elaborately decorated coconuts, another coveted souvenir. Rex, the oldest of all the Mardi Gras parades, began in 1872.
Many parade-goers mask — that is, they dress in costumes to watch the parades — and it’s common to hear people ask one another, “are you masking this year?” Concealing their faces emboldens many watchers to act in ways that are, um, not their usual behavior.
New Orleans loves a party, and the police tend to be amazingly tolerant of Mardi Gras revelers.
Arizona laws, of course, aren’t quite so accommodating. Here, it’s against the law to drink on a public street or gathering, and it’s against the law to have an open container in a vehicle, even if the driver isn’t drinking.
Still, we thought it would be fun to celebrate Mardi Gras with a strictly Southwestern version of the quasi-official drink of Mardi Gras, the hurricane. Our version includes virtually all local ingredients.
Make it with Arizona-distilled rums, such as those from Independent Distillery here in Tucson, or from Elgin Distillery in Elgin or Kingman’s Desert Diamonds Distillery.
Mardi Gras falls at the height of fresh citrus season, so we’ve powered up this drink with freshly squeezed local citrus juices to mask the potency of its rum. Agave syrup sweetens the drink lightly, and prickly pear syrup gives it a glow as lovely as a Sonoran sunset. We like both from Cheri’s Desert Harvest, a familiar Tucson-based company.
Now, about those maraschino cherries. There’s nothing like that produced locally, but you don’t have to stoop to the artificially dyed, weirdly red ones. You can make your own: You’ll need a cup of maraschino liqueur and a pint (about two cups) of pitted sour cherries – the easiest way to get those at this time of year is to buy a can of cherries in light syrup and drain the syrup. Pour the warmed liqueur over the cherries in a jar, put on a tight lid and let them stand for a while. They won’t be ready for this year, though. Around May, you can check in with Brow’s Orchard or Valley Farms, both in Willcox, to see when their u-pick season begins. The maraschinos you make then will be ready for Mardi Gras next year.
So for this year, spend a little money and look for high quality maraschino cherries. I happen to like Luxardo cherries, made by the same company that makes the liqueur. Luxardo uses Italian marasca cherries, a type of sour Morello known for its dark, nearly black color. Online sourcing is your best bet here.
Several Tucson restaurants and bars have announced their own Mardi Gras festivities, including live music, Louisiana-themed food, and more. Are you masking this year?
Mardi Gras Monsoon
Makes 1 serving
Light and bright, this potent cocktail packs a punch, so beware. It’s worth going to the trouble to juice our wonderful fresh citrus for this drink. An average orange will yield about 8 ounces of juice; an average lemon, about 6 ounces; and an average lime, about 1 ounce. Cheri’s Desert Harvest, a familiar Tucson business, offers both prickly pear syrup and agave nectar; you’ll find the company’s products at many places around town.
Ingredients
4 ounces high-quality 80-proof rum
2 ounces freshly squeezed orange juice
2 ounces freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
2 ounces prickly pear syrup
1 tablespoon agave nectar
Garnish: Orange slice
Garnish: 2 maraschino cherries
Preparation
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add all ingredients except garnishes and shake until the shaker is frosty on the outside. Strain the contents into a tall glass and garnish with the orange slice and maraschino cherries.
