Piña Colada

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Cocktail History

The Piña Colada is a classic cocktail that is believed to have been created by Ramón "Monchito" Marrero in 1954 at the Caribe Hilton’s bar in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The drink was originally based on a Cuban recipe for a refreshing pineapple slushy called the Piña Fria and, after the addition of coconut to its rum, pineapple, and lime template, went on to become a staple when it was mentioned in not one but two hit songs in the late 1970s. It has since stayed on many restaurant and bar menus from the "cocktail dark ages" to today.

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Cocktail Ingredients

To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:

White Rum: This is a type of rum made with molasses or sugar cane juice and alcohol that is filtered and bottled right away without the aging process. I used BACARDÍ Superior White Rum.

Pineapple Juice: This is the liquid juice of a pineapple. I used fresh pineapple juice.

Cream of Coconut: This is a thick cream made with coconut milk, sugar, citric acid, and other ingredients. I used Coco Lopez Real Cream of Coconut.

Coconut Milk: This is a thin, milky liquid made extracted from the pulp of coconuts. I used So Delicious Dairy Free Coconut Milk.

Lime Juice: This is the liquid juice of a lime. I used freshly squeezed lime juice.

Pineapple Slice: This is pineapple flesh that has been cut into a slice.

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Bartending Tools

To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following bar tools:

Jigger: This is used to measure and pour ingredients. I used the Japanese jigger from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.

Boston Shaker: This is used to shake ingredients. I used the Boston shaker from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.

Hawthorne Strainer: This is used to strain out ice and solid ingredients after the cocktail is shaken. I used the A Bar Above Hawthorne Strainer.

Chef’s Knife: This is used to cut larger fruits and vegetables into slices for the garnish. I used the OXO Good Grips 8-Inch Chef’s Knife.

Pineapple Corer: This is used to remove the core of the pineapple before it’s juiced. I used the OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Pineapple Corer.

Paring Knife: This is used to cut ingredients. I used the OXO Good Grips 3.5 Inch Paring Knife.

Juicer: This is used to juice citrus, fruits, and vegetables. I used the ALEEHAI Manual Fruit Juicer for the lime and the Hamilton Beach Large Juicer for the pineapple.

Blender: This is used to blend up ingredients. I used the Cuisinart SPB-7CH SmartPowder Electronic Bar Blender.

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Tasting Notes

This cocktail has the following flavor profile:

• Appearance: Faint yellow color

• Aroma: Coconut and pineapple

• Taste: Sweet coconut flavor offset by tart lime

• Finish: Fruity pineapple and nut

Kendall’s Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Kendall’s Take: "I understand why this cocktail is on every mid-level chain restaurant’s drink menu now. It tastes like coconut, and that’s about it, which means it’s very likely to appeal to the masses. After trying so many unique tiki cocktails first though, I found the Piña Colada to be surprisingly boring. Maybe if it had been my gateway to tiki like it is for most people I would’ve liked it, but I much prefer the Greena Colada to this one."

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Recipe

This cocktail recipe was adapted from The Essential Cocktail Book: A Complete Guide to Modern Drinks by the editors of PUNCH and Megan Krigbaum.