The piña colada is a popular classic cocktail invented in Puerto Rico made with pineapple juice, rum, and coconut, served blended or with crushed ice. The name means “strained pineapple” in Spanish.
The original drink was invented in San Juan in 1954 by bartender, Ramón “Monchito” Marrero. This tasty drink became an instant favourite and was later declared the official drink of Puerto Rico in 1978.
This drink is on the list of International Bartender Association’s IBA official cocktails, which means it has an official definition. Which is:
50ml - White Rum
30m - Coconut Cream
50ml - Fresh Pineapple Juice
Historically a few drops of fresh lime juice were added to taste and 4 slices of fresh pineapple can be used instead of juice.
After trialling this recipe in a few different ways, we decided not to stray too far away from the original recipe. This resulted in me using our lightly spiced rum and adding a few chunks of frozen pineapple, which we feel enhances the pineapple flavour and adds to the texture of this tasty drink!
Serves 1
Ingredients
50ml Welsh Soul Rum
1 tbsp Cream of Coconut (not coconut cream*)
50ml Pineapple Juice
6 chunks Frozen Pineapple
1 tbsp Lime juice. Freshly squeezed
Ice
Method
Blend pineapple and ice until chunky.
Add the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.
Serve garnished with a wedge of pineapple.
Note
*Cream of coconut product made specifically for sweetening drinks, whereas coconut cream is unsweetened and mainly used in curries. Don’t buy coconut cream or the drink will not taste sweetened! If you make this misstep and want to save your drink, you can add simple syrup to taste.