Pina Colada
The Pina Colada was first offered in the 1960s. The reason for this is that Creme of Coconut became popular at that time. This mixed drink is considered the first coconut cocktail. Due to its special novel taste, the drink quickly became known all over the world. Today, the Pina Colada cocktail is considered old-fashioned in the bartending scene. However, the Pina Colada has not lost its unforgettably sweet and seductive taste.
Pina Colada Cocktail Recipe
- 6 cl Jamaican rum
- 12 cl pineapple juice
- 6 cl creme de coconut
- 4 cl cream
Step by Step Guide
- Blend all ingredients with ice in an electric blender until a creamy consistency is achieved.
- Strain, grain and serve.
To prepare the Pina Colada, you need an electric mixer. First, put all the ingredients, i.e. Jamaican rum, pineapple juice, creme de coconut and cream, into a blender and blend it until the drink has a creamy consistency. Then you can pour the mix into a pre-chilled glass or pineapple. You can use a piece of pineapple and a cocktail cherry as garnish.
Bar Accessories:
- Electric mixer
- Ice cubes
- Tiki cup or long drink glass
Pina Colada Taste Profile
40 Reviews
The drink tastes sweet, fruity and like coconut. The drink is sweet and creamy, the taste of the alcohol is almost absent. In the bartending scene, ordering the coconut cocktail is considered a sign of bad taste. This is due to the fact that the alcohol is hardly tasted and therefore the quality of the spirit used cannot be appreciated. Also, in the past, this drink has been served in large quantities in cheap cocktail bars with low-quality ingredients that are far too sweet.
Watch out, however! A Colada cocktail made with fresh ingredients can taste very special and excellent. Nowadays, a lime or a pinch of salt can help to give the rum cocktail the necessary taste sensations so that the drink can step out of the dark corner of the cocktail scene. In detail, the drink impresses with very sweet and mild notes. The alcoholic taste is actually not to be tasted at all. The pineapple juice used also gives the drink pleasant fruity notes.
Tips for preparing a cocktail
Fresh pineapple juice
Be sure to use fresh pineapple juice when preparing the cocktail. This will make the cocktail much more aromatic and fresh. Only if you have no other choice should you resort to “bought” pineapple juice.
Also a pleasure without alcohol
The coconut cocktail is also a pleasure without alcohol. It is very easy to prepare without alcohol and the taste is pleasantly sweet and fruity. This means that even drivers or children can enjoy a coconut mocktail.
The holiday drink
The Pina Colada is usually associated with summer, sun and sunshine. However, the drink can also be drunk very well in autumn, or even in winter. The classic looks good at any cocktail evening and provides the eye-catcher.
History
Predecessors of the drink were already prepared and drunk in Cuba at the beginning of the 19th century. This drink was still called “Pina fria”, a fruit drink with pineapple and ice. It was only later that spirits were added, and even later that the now characteristic coconut was added. Other predecessors consisted of pineapple juice, rum, ice, sugar and lime juice.
The bartender Don Ramon Portas Mingot is considered the inventor of the Pina Colada. He is said to have mixed the first Pina Colada in Puerto Rico in 1963. Predecessors of this cocktail were prepared and consumed much earlier, in the days of pirates and buccaneers (e.g. the Ti Punch). Whether this story is true or not is impossible to say today. In the 1970s, the drink became very popular. However, the cocktail only experienced the big hype when Creme of Coconut could be produced by machine. This made it much easier to produce the cream. As a result, many more people, especially bartenders, had easy access to the coconut cream. They put the cocktail on their cards and triggered a real “Pina Colada” boom.
The well-known bartender Don Ramon from Puerto Rico likes to tell the fairy tale of embarrassed men who used the drink to build up their courage before dates. Since the rum tasted too alcoholic for the young men, it was often diluted with coconut milk and/or pineapple juice. This gave the world a very well-known and popular cocktail.
The meaning of the word
The word “Pina” is Spanish and means as much as pineapple, “Colar” as much as sifting. So, loosely translated, Pina Colada means something like “pineapple sifted through”. However, the Pina Colada is by no means a pineapple that has been sieved through or a simple, harmless fruit juice. The influence of the famous drink spread beyond the cocktail scene. Thus, the drink embodies beach, sun, holiday, light-heartedness and the Caribbean. For this reason, the Pina Colada was also named Puerto Rico’s national drink.
There are various products with a Pina Colada smell or taste. For example, today you can buy Pina Colada shampoo, scent or perfume in the supermarket. In addition, some songs have been dedicated to the drink. This shows how much people love and adore the Pina Colada.
Colada Drinks
Today, the word colada has become almost synonymous with cocktails from the Caribbean. The typical ingredients are cream, coconut and pineapple juice. However, these ingredients can vary from recipe to recipe. The coconut cream (or Creme De Coconut) used in the Pina Colada can be obtained from the first pressing of fresh coconut flakes. It has a very high fat content of about 35 %. Coconut milk can be mixed from a little water and the juice of the second coconut pressing. The fat content here varies between 7 % – 22 %.
The development to one of the most famous cocktails worldwide
As early as the beginning of the 20th century, the first pineapple drinks were mentioned in major American newspapers. Later, spirits and coconut were added. As these coconut-infused cocktails became more popular, the number of variations grew rapidly. The first Pina Colada ice creams are said to have existed as early as the early 1930s.
The drink was written up in various cocktail books and cocktail cards. However, the drink received the greatest attention when Rupert Holmes landed a hit with the “Pina Colada Song”. Actually, the song is called “Escape”, but the name Pina Colada Song caught on and made it to the top of the American charts.
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Pina Colada - FAQ
Who invented the Pina Colada?
The predecessors of Pina Colada were prepared in Cuba at the beginning of the 19th century. Rum was mixed with pineapple juice and coconut cream. The recipe used today, however, is said to have been invented and spread only in the 1960s.
What is a Pina Colada?
A Pina Colada is a very well-known rum cocktail that belongs to the family of Tiki cocktails. It stands out because of its very sweet, coconut-like taste.
What does the Pina Colada cocktail taste like?
The Pina Colada is a very sweet cocktail. The alcohol can hardly be tasted. Instead, the sweet coconut aromas and fruity pineapple flavours dominate the drink.
How do you prepare a Pina Colada?
Simply put all the ingredients (rum, pineapple juice, creme de coconut and cream) into an electric mixer and stir well. Then pour the drink into a tiki cup and you can serve it directly or enjoy it yourself.
Why does the Pina Colada have a bad rum in bartender circles?
The drink has a bad reputation in bartending circles because the taste of the spirit is outweighed by the other ingredients. As a result, you can hardly taste the spirit. Therefore, bartenders often accuse the drinker of not honouring the taste of the spirit.
Can you serve the drink without alcohol?
Yes, you have the option of serving this drink without alcohol. All you have to do is discover and prepare the Virgin Colada recipe. This drink is made from coconut milk, pineapple juice and cream. Completely without alcohol and still incredibly delicious.