Piña colada

Type	Cocktail
Primary alcohol by volume	Rum
Served	Blended with ice (frozen style)
Standard garnish	pineapple slice and maraschino cherry
Standard drinkware	goblet, copo grande, hurricane, tiki, or pint
IBAspecified ingredients*	30 ml (one part) white rum 30 ml (one part) cream of coconut 90 ml (3 parts) pineapple juice
Preparation	Mix with crushed ice until smooth. Pour into chilled glass, garnish and serve.

The piña colada (Spanish: piña, pineapple + colada, strained) is a sweet, rum-based cocktail made with rum, cream of coconut, and pineapple juice, usually served either blended or shaken with ice. It may be garnished with a pineapple wedge, a maraschino cherry or both. The piña colada has been the official beverage of Puerto Rico since 1978.^[1]

On August 16, 1954 at the Caribe Hilton’s Beachcomber Bar in San Juan, Puerto Rico by its alleged creator, Ramón "Monchito" Marrero. Apparently, the hotel management had expressly requested Monchito to mix a new signature drink that would delight the demanding palates of its star-studded clientele. Monchito accepted the challenge, and after three intense months of blending, shaking and experimenting, the first piña colada was born. This story is credible because the piña colada contains coconut cream as one of the primary ingredients, and the coconut cream of "Coco López" (which is the pioneer) was invented in 1954 in the University of Puerto Rico by Ramón López Irizarry. This story is confirmed by José L. Díaz De Villegas in his book Puerto Rico La Gran Cocina Del Caribe.Origin

Popularity

This cocktail has been famous in Puerto Rico since 1978, and it became more widely known after Rupert Holmes released his song "Escape", commonly known as "The Piña Colada Song".

Preparation

There are many recipes of how to make a piña colada but the one that his friends tell in the book of José L. Díaz De Villegas to be the original recipe created by Monchito, is the following: Pour 3 ounces of coconut cream, 6 ounces of pineapple juice and 1½ ounces of white rum into a blender or shaker with crushed ice, and blend or shake very well until smooth. Pour into chilled glass, garnish with pineapple wedge and/or a maraschino cherry.

Variations

• Different proportions may be used. For example, 1 part rum, 2 each of pineapple juice and coconut cream.
• Dark rum may be used.
• Amaretto colada — amaretto substituted for rum^[3]
• Avo Colada - Add 1/2 an avocado to blend
• Belizean piña colada — evaporated milk instead of coconut cream
• Caribou Lou - Malibu Rum, pineapple juice and 151 rum
• Iguana Colada - piña colada with Midori
• Jackolada - Add 1/2 part Jack Daniels
• Kahlúa Colada — substitute Kahlúa for the rum
• King Henry or Chi Chi — vodka substituted for rum
• Lava Flow — strawberry daiquiri and piña colada blended together^[4]
• Marula Colada - Amarula instead of rum
• Miami Vice — 1/2 strawberry daiquiri poured over 1/2 piña colada (use frozen versions of each, and do not blend together)
• Staten Island Ferry — coconut rum and pineapple juice over ice
• RumChata Colada - Add 1 1/2 part RumChata (horchata rum) with 1/2 part Malibu (coconut rum)
• Virgin piña colada or piñita colada — without the rum