Piña Verde

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Cocktail History

The Piña Verde is a tropical cocktail that was created in 2010 by Erick Castro while at Polite Provisions in San Diego, California. As can be deduced from its name, the recipe is a variation of the iconic Piña Colada that also calls for pineapple, creamy coconut, and citrus juice like the classic, but this version omits the rum in favor of herbal Green Chartreuse.

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Cocktail Ingredients

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

Green Chartreuse: This is a liqueur made in France with over a hundred herbs and plants, spices, sugar, and alcohol.

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.

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

Mint Sprig: This is an herb. I used Mojito mint.

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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: Creamy pastel green color

• Aroma: Fragrant blend of fresh pineapple and coconut with a subtle herbal edge

• Taste: Lush, tropical sweetness from the pineapple and coconut cream that's beautifully balanced by the complex, herbal intensity of the Chartreuse

• Finish: More sweet coconut and herbs

Kendall’s Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Kendall’s Take: "It's both a blessing and a curse to have tried so many incredibly complex tiki cocktails because, when I come across fairly simple ones, I tend to rate them lower now. It feels like something's missing; that's what happens when there aren't twelve ingredients in the drink, I suppose, but I felt that way about the Piña Verde. The Chartreuse is a delicious addition to the simple and widely loved template, but I much prefer the Greena Colada to this version, which also mixes in the herbal liqueur but along with other tiki ingredients. This is yummy as is, but I don't think I'd make it over some of my other tiki faves."

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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.