Beachbum Berry’s Grog Log continues to fill me with the lust of the tiki. And even though my epic quest to acquire demerara rum in Pennsylvania continues to thwart me in every direction (save one, which will not be spoken of), there are still many recipes that I can make from the wondrous tome.

I just finished up a post on the Singapore Sling where cutting out or simplifying ingredients resulted in a drink with less complexity and interest. Darcy over at The Art of the Drink does a great and amusing job of stressing the importance of quality ingredients and not skipping out to make things simpler on such a drink. But fortunately, it is not always so. Some recipes do indeed benefit from simplicity.

The Hurricane is one of those recipes. I was a bit surprised, however, when I read the Grog Log’s version of the recipe. Half of its 8 ounce contents is rum! So, of course, I immediately set out to make the drink. It was magically tasty and refreshing, but I wanted to see what some of my other books had to say on the matter. To my delight, they contained recipes with nearly double the ingredients. Will that result in double the complexity and flavor? Let’s find out.

Gary Regan

• 1 1/2oz light rum (Bacardi light)
• 1 1/2oz dark rum (Gosling’s)
• 1oz orange juice
• 1oz lemon juice
• 2oz passion fruit juice
• 1/2oz simple syrup
• 2 dashes grenadine

From: The Joy of Mixology

There’s nothing wrong with this drink; it’s a fun mix of fruity ingredients that makes a fun, fruity drink. Nothing is really out of balance here, yet nothing jumps out to make you notice. A bit of plain alcohol taste comes out at the end, but it doesn’t really say anything useful. A quick taste test by the lady of the house confirms my thoughts: a typical, yet nice, fruity drink.

Dale DeGroff

• 1oz dark rum
• 1oz light rum
• 1/2oz Galliano
• 2oz passion fruit nectar
• 2oz orange juice
• 2oz pineapple juice
• 1oz simple syrup
• 1 dash Angostura bitters

From: The Craft of the Cocktail

A bit more interesting than Gary’s recipe, but nearly as one-dimensional. Sweet passion fruit plus Galliano. All of the other ingredients just take a nap while these ones take over.

Beachbum Berry

• 2oz lemon juice
• 2oz passion fruit syrup
• 4oz dark Jamaican rum (Gosling’s)

From: Grog Log

The complexity in this recipe is surprising. The tastes of caramel, passion fruit, and tart lemon all jump around on your tongue in happy harmony.

Overall Decision

Beachbum Berry’s version from Grog Log completely blows the others out of the water. For having less than half the ingredients, it is complex, not too sweet, and allows the rum to take a prominent role. The lemon really cut into the passion fruit flavor, making its role the most subtle of the three drinks.