Drinks Recipes for Your Mardi Gras Party

So your having a Mardi Gras Party, you have the decorations, you have the traditional Mardi Gras dishes, but what about the drinks.

There are several signature drinks for New Orleans and Mardi Gras that would be perfect to serve at your Mardi Gras party. Most of these drinks are mixed drinks, but some can be put in a blender for a nice blended Mardi Gras drink as well.

Let's begin with Alcoholic drinks.

Hurricane

The Hurricane is one of New Orleans most popular drinks. You can either make it at home or purchase the Pat O'Brien's Hurricane Mix. Pat O'Brien's bar, located in the French Quarter of New Orleans is the creator of the original Hurricane.

To make a Hurricane at home, use these ingredients.

1 ounce Bacardi 151 Proof Rum
1 ounce white rum
1 ounce dark rum
½ ounce Grenadine
3 ounce orange juice
3 ounce pineapple juice
Crushed ice

Mix together and serve. A hurricane glass is the obvious choice for this drink. Great garnishes for this drink are orange slices or cherries.

Mardi Gras Mojito

A Mardi Gras Mojito is a perfect choice for a Mardi Gras party. To make a Mardi Gras Mojito you will need these items. This drink would be best when served in a small or thin glass.

2 fresh mint leaves
1 tablespoon simple syrup
2 cubes of ice
1 1/4 fluid ounces rum
1 fluid ounce of carbonated water
1 whole sprig fresh mint

Hand Grenade

The Hand Grenade is one of New Orleans most popular drinks. This drink is definitely a must for a Mardi Gras Party.

1 1/2 ounces gin
1 1/2 ounces grain alcohol
1 1/2 ounces melon liqueur
1 1/2 ounces rum
1 1/2 ounces vodka

Mix the ingredients together and serve the Hand Grenade in a specialty glass.

Parade Day Jello Shots

Jello shots are always great for a party. These Parade Day Jello Shots should be perfect for any Mardi Gras celebration. It calls for orange Jello, but seems like you could use green Jello too, because green is one of the Mardi Gras colors.

6 ounces Orange Jello (large box)
8 ounces Water (boiling)
4 ounces Water (cold)
4 ounces Amaretto

Mix the Jello mix with the boiling water until the powder is fully dissolved and then add the rest of the water and the Amaretto. Pour the mixture into either shot glasses. If you prefer to use something more disposable and easier to eat out of than small paper or plastic cups will work too. Refrigerate the cups for at least a couple hours before serving.

Non Alcoholic Beverages

It is wise to serve non-alcoholic beverages at a Mardi Gras party. People will be drinking, but there should always be designated drivers and you want them to have something festive to drink as well. So here are a few of non-alcoholic drink recopies.

Hurricane Punch

Hurricane Punch is a great non-alcoholic drink recipe to serve a lot of people. Perfect if you have a lot of guests.

46 ounces pineapple juice
46 ounces ginger ale, chilled
16 ounces water
12 ounces frozen limeade concentrate, thawed
6 ounces orange juice concentrate, thawed
6 ounces lemonade concentrate, thawed
2 medium navel oranges, thinly sliced

Leaving out the ginger ale, mix all the ingredients together and refrigerate. Before serving, add the ginger ale and orange slices. This punch seems like it would be fun to serve in glass mugs or small cocktail glasses.

Non-alcoholic Hurricane

Even the party guests who don't drink should be able to experience New Orleans signature Hurricane. To make the non-alcoholic Hurricane use these ingredients.

Cocktail Shaker
Crushed Ice
3 oz club soda
1 lime
4 ounces passion fruit syrup
½ ounce Cherry Grenadine
Garnish

In the cocktail shaker mix the club soda, passion fruit syrup, and all the juice from the lime. Shake for 30 seconds then pour into a specialty glass, add the cherry Grenadine and a garnish and you're done!

Recipes adapted from:

http://www.mardigrasday.com/mardigras/food.php?file=hurricane.html
http://astore.amazon.com/mardigrasdaybooks-20/detail/B0027E6NWG
http://www.mardigrasday.com/mardigras/food.php?file=MardiGrasMojito.html
http://hauntedneworleanstours.com/entertainment/drinks/
http://www.food.com/recipe/hurricane-punch-non-alcoholic-215584
http://www.mademan.com/mm/non-alcoholic-mardi-gras-drinks.html