Blast away your thirst with the popular Bourbon Street beverage, the Hand Grenade cocktail.
If you’ve run across any of my stories here at Twist & Toast, you may remember that I grew up an Army Brat. So I’m a bit of an oddball because of my proximity to unique experiences. How many of you out there were arrested by the military police for playing with dry ice in your own backyard? I’m genuinely curious, to be honest.
Once, when I was in the sixth grade and my family was stationed in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, I was hanging out with a buddy of mine at his house. We all lived in military-issued quarters, so the only difference between my family’s home and anyone else’s was the decor. Unless you were a general. My friend’s dad was Marine Recon, and for whatever reason, they gave him a smoke grenade to put on his bookshelf as decor. And the brain trust that my pal and I were, we thought we should pull the pin and then put it back, just for the heck of it.
The next hour and a half was filled with two panicking preteens trying to fold and squeeze a pin back into a “non-lethal” grenade before it filled my friend’s house with red smoke and a helicopter landed on his lawn. Both of us would’ve been grounded for life afterwards, too, for sure. Long story short, we got the pin back in.
And tonight’s cocktails, the Hand Grenade, reminded me of that stressful afternoon. A New Orleans mainstay and Bourbon Street classic, the Hand Grenade drink is a strong and powerful sipper, served in a plastic grenade-shaped container… and only from establishments in the Big Easy that are licensed to do so. So when you craft this beverage at home, don’t tell anyone…
This message will self-destruct after one too many.
What Is The Best Alcohol To Use In A Hand Grenade Cocktail?
To craft this bright green libation, you’ll need a handful of spirits, with three of them being clear-colored: a white rum, some vodka and gin. We’ll want to keep this drink as balanced as possible, so go for something like a Bacardi Silver, Chopin rye and a Beefeater London Dry, respectively. For the melon liqueur, which brings the emerald hue, Midori is the most well-known and reliable.
Ingredients
- 1 ounce vodka
- 1 ounce gin
- 1 ounce white rum
- 1 1/2 ounces Midori melon liqueur
- 2 ounces pineapple juice
- Crushed ice
- Lime wedge for garnish
Instructions
- Fill a cocktail shaker with ice and add the vodka, gin, white rum, Midori melon liqueur, and pineapple juice.
- Shake vigorously for about 20 seconds.
- Strain into a pre-chilled collins glass filled with crushed ice. Garnish with a lime wedge and serve immediately.
Nutrition
What glassware and garnish are used?
Chill a collins glass in your freezer for around 30 minutes, then fill with crushed ice and pour your Hand Grenade in. Garnish with a plump and juicy lime wedge.
Similar Cocktails To The Hand Grenade
If you’ve partied your way through the Big Easy, you’ve probably had your share of some of the city’s famous and historic libations. If the Hand Grenade got you thinking about some of the other mixed drinks that N’awlins has to offer, Twist & Toast has the recipes readily available at your fingertips, eager for you to try them out right now.
- A La Louisiane – Celebrate Mardi Gras without ever leaving your couch with this New Orleans classic.
- Brandy Crusta – Another sophisticated classic from the Paris of the South.
- Ramos Gin Fizz – One of my all-time favorite Big Easy beverages.
- Pimm’s Cup – While not one of the city’s creations, it proved so popular there that it has become associated with it since the 1940s.
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