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Any party will feel like a beach party matinée if you have a cold Pina Colada in your hand, even if it’s snowing outside. That’s why knowing how to make one of the ultimate summer cocktails is a must for any true hedonist. The Pina Colada is a fruity, sweet cocktail that is a perfect refreshment for those tropical, sticky days, although it’s so tasty that we can’t refuse it even when we’re wearing jackets.
Pina Colada History
As one of the few cocktails that actually needs modern appliances to be made it’s easy to track back its origins. A bartender from the Caribe Hilton claims to be the father of Piña Colada, which is the correct writing of the drink, and that he first settled on the recipe in 1954. But there is a cooler story, an older story. Allegedly, a pirate from Puerto Rico called Roberto Cofresí gave his crew a beverage that contained coconut, pineapple, and white, in order to boost their morale, back in 19th century. Who would mutiny if they had access to Pina Coladas, right?
The thing that is not a myth is that Pina Colada is the national drink of the proud island nation of Puerto Rico since 1978.
Pina Colada Equipment Needed
– Blender
– Hurricane Glass
– Stick
Pina Colada Ingredients Needed
– White rum
– Pineapple juice
– Ice
– Pineapple
– Coconut cream
– A cherry
– An orange
How To Make a Pina Colada
First of all, you don’t HAVE to play the Rupert Holmes’ song Escape in the background, but it is advised by all the professionals.
Take the hurricane glass and fill it with ice. Sidenote – if you don’t have a hurricane glass you don’t have to go out and buy a set, just use a long glass you have around the kitchen. But if you really enjoy Pina Coladas you should really get one as they really add to the summer feel of the cocktail due to their round shape which is not often used indoors.
Photo: ManuelGonzalezOlaecheaFranco (Getty Images)
You’ll be making the cocktail in the blender, which makes Pina Colada recipe one of the most unusual ones.
Chop up the pineapple into eight or so inch-big squares. Put them in the blender. Proceed to put two ounces of coconut cream in there too. Then pour two ounces of white rum, and also pour six ounces of pineapple juice in there. Ideally, it would be fresh pineapple juice, since it’s better of course, but also because piña colada literally means “strained pineapple”. That won’t be possible if you’re throwing a big party or just want several cocktails.
Now throw away the ice you placed in the hurricane glass, as you did that just to chill the glass. This step is purely optional if you don’t have that much ice at your hand since you’ll need it for actual mixing.
Proceed to put the same amount of ice, meaning a glass-full, into the blender.
Close the blender and fire it up. You’ll want to keep it going until the liquid is nice and smooth, free of bits. Pour it into the glass, all the way to the top.
Piña Colada Recipe Garnishing
That looks delicious but pretty bland, and not that summery. That’s why you need the garnish. You can go several routes with this, one being cutting a pineapple into a small triangle, slicing it through and putting it on the glass alongside a cherry.
The other being putting the cherry, the pineapple triangle, and a slim orange triangle on a stick, and placing the stick across the glass. Put a straw in the drink and you’re done!
There you go, the best Pina Colada recipe out there, simply because it’s the classic one, and you can never go wrong with a classic. Do you have your own take on the famed cocktail? Leave your tips and hints in the comments.
