0.8 oz × 29.57 ml × 0.789 g/ml = 19 g · about 131 kcal from the alcohol alone
IN THE GLASS
VANILLIN
FROM DARK RUM · from oak barrel aging
Formula
C₈H₈O₃
Mass
152.15 g/mol
IUPAC
4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzaldehyde
Bourbon's fingerprint, extracted from the charred American oak the law requires for aging. Same molecule as the vanilla bean's signature, so a well-aged bourbon legitimately tastes like vanilla. Chemistry, not metaphor. Cognac, aged rum, tequila reposado all extract vanillin from oak too. Different barrels, same molecule.
The grape-candy / Welch's-grape-juice aroma. Concord grapes carry it in concentrations no European wine grape (Vitis vinifera) approaches; American Vitis labrusca grapes, native to the northeastern US, hold methyl anthranilate as a signature. The "foxy" note in North American grape juice and artificial grape candy both come from the same molecule. Also used as the standard bird repellent on commercial fruit crops; birds find it intolerable.
Lemon's defining note: technically a mix of two geometric isomers (geranial and neral) that read as the same aroma to the nose. Lemon peel, lemongrass, lemon verbena, and Indian chai all carry it. In cocktails it's what a lemon twist contributes that lemon juice can't: the volatile expressed from the oil glands, not the acid from the pulp.
Light and dark rum, passion fruit, orange, lemon and grenadine. Tropical thiols from passion fruit (3-mercaptohexyl acetate) are the load-bearing aromatics, and they are what distinguish the Hurricane from the generic rum punch family. Citral comes from the two citrus juices and vanillin from the dark rum's oak.
PROVENANCE
Born of necessity: during WWII, scotch and other European spirits were scarce in New Orleans, but Caribbean rum was easy to obtain. liquor distributors reportedly required Pat O'Brien to buy fifty cases of rum for every case of scotch, and he then needed a recipe to move all the rum. The Hurricane (named for its hurricane-lamp-shaped glass) was the answer. Pat O's in the French Quarter still serves it in that glass.