Hurricanes: How much devastation can one drink cause?

It is hurricane season in New Orleans.  For those of you who aren’t glued to the Hurricane Tracker App for the app friendly phones, you might not know that hurricane season starts June 1^st and ends on November 30^th.

 

What this means to those of us who live in this area is that it is time to make weekly trips to Pat O’Briens for their world famous Hurricanes.  Now, Pat O’s has a mean hurricane.  You should really have only one, especially if you have not eaten dinner yet.  However, most of us just can’t stop with one so here are some tips and tricks for over-consuming a Hurricane.

 

1)  Get in a cab and go to your hotel.  Over-consumption leads to poor decision making.  You know the song, Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off…  And of course a tattoo of a voodoo priestess on your right forearm could seem like a good idea after a few Hurricanes.

2)  Sleep. Rest is your best friend at this point to give your body a recover. For the best rest, I recommend calling in to work and telling them you have the stomach flu. This is a great idea unless you drunk dialed/texted your boss!

3)  Drink More.  Not more Hurricanes although…. Replenish your body with fruit juice and water but avoid caffeine.   A weak cup of coffee may be okay but a lot of caffeine will continue to dehydrate you so lay off the Red Bulls and sleep through a day of work. 

3a)  Try a Bloody Mary.  While your blood is dealing with the new alcohol it is ignoring the old and in the mean time tomato juice and celery are full of vitamins. If you drank the last of the vodka make a Virgin Mary. Another spicy morning after drink option is Hair of the Dog, in which gin and hot sauce are sure to bite your hangover back.  Of course, another hurricane made with Bourbon….

4)  Drink orange juice for Vitamin C.  If you add Vodka, you will feel better even quicker.

5)  Drink a sports drink like Gatorade or Powerade.  This is also good with Vodka.

6)  Eat mineral rich food like pickles or canned fish.  (I found this one online, yuk.)  In Poland, drinking pickle juice is a common remedy.  Note to self…

7)  In Ireland it was said that the cure for a hangover is to bury the ailing person up to the neck in moist river sand.  We have a lot of moist river mud in New Orleans but I am not sure this is a good idea, but see #1.

8)  Found this one online too.  Get some exercise. Do some sort of physical activity like mountain climbing, swimming, cycling or just about anything that keeps you sweating.  It would take Rush Limbaugh look-a-like in a Purple Sun Dress wearing Red Lipstick chasing me down Bourbon Street to get me to move like that when the world is still spinning.

9)  I love Alka Seltzer it seems to help temporarily relieve some symptoms. FYI…Tylenol and ibuprofen can be magnified when alcohol is in your system, so it is best (even though it may be the first thing you reach for) to avoid them to kill the hangover pain. Aspirin is a blood thinner, just like alcohol, and can intensify its effects and Tylenol (or acetaminophen) can cause more damage to your liver. Ibuprofen can also cause stomach bleeding.  It is probably better to drink Pickle Juice!

Enjoy Hurricane Season in New Orleans.  The hotel rates get better, the streets are less crowded so fewer people know about your clothes falling off.

 

Hurricane Ingredients:
- 2 oz light rum
- 2 oz (151) dark rum
- 2 oz passion fruit juice
- 1 oz orange juice
- 1/2 oz fresh lime juice
- 1 tbsp simple syrup
- 1 tbsp grenadine
- Garnish: orange slice and cherry

Shake all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and strain into a hurricane glass. Garnish with a cherry and an orange slice.
History:Hurricane was invented during the World War II at Pat O'Briens bar in New Orleans and was named after the shape of a hurricane lamp. Pat O'Briens bar is still open today in New Orleans' famous French Quarter and sells their original Hurricane cocktail mix at the bar.