What Goes Into New Orleans' Iconic Hand Grenade Cocktail?

During the 1984 New Orleans World's Fair, something extraordinary happened. A local bar named Tropical Isle debuted a brand new cocktail called the Hand Grenade. This potent, melon-flavored cocktail was slightly green in nature, and due to its blend of ingredients and liqueurs, hid the alcoholic taste quite well. Unsuspecting patrons were knocked off their feet after imbibing multiple beverages and woke to a pounding headache the following morning. 

Why create such a strong cocktail, you ask? To compete with the Hurricane, the city's most famous cocktail at the time, which had an origin story dating back to Pat O'Brien's Bar in New Orleans during World War II. The Hurricane had a longstanding preference among tourists and visitors, thanks to its rum-and-fruit-juice base. Tropical Isle hoped that the Hand Grenade would gain at least a small portion of the market with its closely guarded recipe. And it worked.

To this day, no one can definitively say what's in a Tropical Isle Hand Grenade, because the recipe is still top-secret information. But that hasn't stopped the internet from speculating.

One Reddit user compiled a recipe from their own research, which included 1.5 ounces each (EACH!) of the following spirits: gin, vodka, rum, melon liqueur, and grain alcohol. Others jumped in and pointed out that this particular recipe lacked a mixer like a lemon-lime soda, simple syrup, or a sour mix. But this would explain why so many patrons feel awful after a night of drinking Hand Grenades.

Food blogger and recipe creator Kathleen Pope has a different interpretation of the Tropical Isle Hand Grenade. Her version, similar to the Reddit recipe, added white rum and pineapple juice, all shaken together, then served in a cocktail glass like a Collins glass over ice and garnished with a pineapple slice or melon ball. A third recipe also uses many of the same ingredients but adds blue Curaçao (even if the flavor doesn't match the color), grapefruit juice, lemon-lime soda, and a sweet and sour mix. After shaking and pouring the beverage into a highball glass with ice, you're supposed to top it off with more lemon-lime soda and another dash of blue Curaçao, then garnish (you should always garnish a cocktail) with a lime or cherry. These are all potent possibilities, to say the least.

For a truly authentic Hand Grenade, your best bet is to order one in-person at Tropical Isle the next time you're in New Orleans.