booze clues 2/4

(tips for drinking well in Tulsa)

The Vault, 620 S. Cincinnati Ave.

The owner: Libby Billings

The cocktail: Hurricane

The ingredients: Bacardi Superior White Rum, Gosling’s Bermuda Black Rum, lime juice and orange juice (both freshly squeezed), passionfruit syrup, house-made grenadine. Garnish with an orange slice and a house-made brandied cherry. 

The lowdown: Because of a whiskey rationing in 1940s New Orleans, everyone wanted whiskey and there was an abundance of rum. The distributors made every pub that bought a case of whiskey also buy that much rum, so bar owner Pat O’Brien came up with this really strong rum drink. A typical cocktail has between 1.5 ounces to 2.5 ounces of rum in it. This has 4 ounces. The drink is named after the hurricane-lantern shape of the glass it comes in. We’ll run this as a special until Mardi Gras, when we’ll all give up something up for Lent, which might have to be the Hurricane. 

The insider info: Billings uses this recipe to make mega-batches of Hurricanes for her annual Mardi Gras shenanigans at Elote (sadly, it’s a private party). 

Still thirsty? Read up on discovering New Orleans in Tulsa and making the most of Mardi Gras 2015.