Piña Colada Recipe: Rum, Coconut and Pineapple

Ingredients

1¾ oz white rum
1 oz cream of coconut sweetened, such as Coco López
1¾ oz pineapple juice fresh if possible

Garnish: Pineapple wedge and cocktail cherry · Ice: Crushed ice

Method

Add rum, cream of coconut and pineapple juice to a blender.
Add a cup of crushed ice.
Blend until smooth, about 15 to 20 seconds.
Pour into a chilled hurricane glass.
Garnish with a pineapple wedge and a cocktail cherry.

Watch it made

Piña Colada

Taste

Sweet, creamy and tropical with pineapple and coconut, balanced by light rum. Smooth and cold, with a mellow strength.

History and origin

The Piña Colada is the national drink of Puerto Rico, officially so since 1978, and its origin is claimed by more than one San Juan establishment. The Caribe Hilton says its bartender Ramón "Monchito" Marrero created it in 1954. The Barrachina restaurant in Old San Juan claims that Ramón Portas Mingot invented it there in 1963. Both stories are told with conviction, and neither has fully settled the question.

What made the drink possible was cream of coconut, a sweetened coconut product developed in Puerto Rico in the 1950s and sold as Coco López, which made a smooth, consistent drink easy to produce. The name means strained pineapple in Spanish. The International Bartenders Association lists the Piña Colada among its Contemporary Classics.

Bartender tips

Use cream of coconut (sweetened), not coconut milk or unsweetened coconut cream, or the drink will be thin and bland.
A squeeze of fresh lime juice (about 10 ml) cuts the sweetness if you prefer a brighter drink.
Not a fan of blended drinks? Shake hard with ice and strain over crushed ice for a lighter texture.

Variations

Virgin Piña Colada: Leave out the rum and add a little more pineapple juice.
Painkiller: The British Virgin Islands relative with navy rum, orange juice and nutmeg.
Dark Rum Colada: An easy twist: float 15 ml dark rum on top for a deeper, spiced finish.