Pina Colada

Pina Colada

The Pina Colada is truly a classic cocktail. Deliciously sweet, fruity, and creamy, it even works well without any rum. But this is my blog. There will be rum. The Pina Colada was created by Ramon Marrero at Puerto Rico’s Caribe Hilton in 1957. Supposedly it is also written somewhere in cocktail lore that Trader Vic was not favorable to the name Pina Colada because it did not sound “tiki” enough and actually referred to it as the Bahia. Yet, this is in my opinion the cocktail most often identified with “tiki.”
The simplest version of the recipe is as follows. 1½ oz light or gold rum, 2 oz cream of coconut, 3 oz pineapple juice. Add all the ingredients to a shaker with ice, shake very well, strain into a tall glass with fresh ice, garnish with pineapple & cherry. Or you can blend the ingredients with crushed ice, and then pour into a tall glass, garnish with pineapple & cherry as well. As I said this is the simplest version. However, if you are looking for a tropical cocktail with amazing flavor, texture and a little complexity then allow me to share with you my favorite Pina Colada recipe.

This recipe comes from the book The Craft of The Cocktail by Dale Degroff. It is this book that introduced me to my love of cocktails & mixology. Special thanks to my longtime friend Bryan for buying it for me.
 
First up light rum. This is a crisp clean sweet spirit from molasses and sugarcane juice. Light rum is fermented and filtered in steel helping maintain it’s purity and clear coloring. It is this crispness and sweetness that makes light rum so popular in mixed drinks. In fact the original daiquiri was little more than light rum, lime juice and a little sugar or simple syrup.  

Next we have Dark Rum, I prefer Myers Dark. Dark Rum is stored in charred oak barrels much like bourbon thus taking on those bold and rich flavors.

To this you want to add Cream of Coconut. This is not coconut milk, coconut flavored water or coconut flavored rum. Cream of coconut is what gives you that rich, full coconut flavor and texture. As with my other cocktails I use Coco Real.

Following this we have 1 oz of heavy cream. This really enhances that creamy buttery texture. This drink just melts on the tongue, and this is why. Some people will even add ice cream to a pina colada. I do not.

Add your pineapple juice. As with most pineapple drinks you want to use the freshest unsweetened concentrate you can find. If you actually have access to freshly squeezed, extracted pineapple juice, by all means use it.

To add just a hint of spice, and taste bud teasing use 1 dash of bitters. I use Angostura. I personally have not taken the time to play with the myriad of flavored bitters making their way into cocktail culture. For me, for now, this classic standard of Angostura is quite sufficient.

Pina Colada
1 ½ Oz Light Rum
1 Oz Dark Rum
2 OZ Coco Cream
1 Oz Heavy Cream
4 Oz Pineapple Juice
Dash of Bitters
1 Cherry Speared
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Combine all ingredients in cocktail shaker, add ice and shake very well. Pour into cocktail glass. Add speared cherry.

For most the pina colada is a coconut/pineapple slushie with rum added. If this is what you seek I recommend getting some pre-made mix, adding your ice & rum, blend it up and party on. However, if you really want to experience the layers and textures of this drink, then you want to shake this drink. The blending process has a strong tendency to dilute your drink and most of the flavor gets lots in the best attempt to avoid a brain freeze. Here’s what I do encourage. Try both. Experience the difference for yourself.
Okay, so lets build. Combine all ingredients: Light Rum, Dark Rum, Cream of Coconut, Heavy Cream, Pineapple Juice, & a dash of bitters in a cocktail shaker. Add crushed ice and shake very thoroughly. Pour this into a tall glass and garnish with a speared cherry. If you have fresh pineapple to add to the spear, this is a bonus. My friends, enjoy!