Hurricane Jello Shot

Passion fruit punch meets rum power in this New Orleans classic—bright, tropical, and festive enough for any Mardi Gras celebration.

The Hurricane Jello Shot translates the most iconic drink of the New Orleans French Quarter into gelatin form, preserving the passion fruit, citrus, and rum combination that Pat O'Brien developed during World War II to move his surplus rum allocation. O'Brien created the original Hurricane at his French Quarter bar in the early 1940s when WWII spirit rationing required bars to purchase cases of rum to receive limited whiskey allocations, and the large, fruity rum punch he developed to use the surplus rum became one of the most commercially successful bar drinks in American history. The Jello shot format captures the Hurricane's tropical character — its passion fruit syrup's distinctive floral-tropical flavor and the citrus acid that balances it — in a gelatin base that holds the rum securely and allows advance preparation for large parties. Mardi Gras season in New Orleans has long been the Hurricane's peak consumption period, and the shot format makes it logistically practical to serve the drink in the volume appropriate to Mardi Gras-scale events. Passion fruit gelatin or passion fruit juice concentrate provides the flavor foundation, avoiding the enzyme incompatibility issue that prevents fresh pineapple from setting properly in gelatin.