Piña Colada (Caribe Hilton style)
Puerto Rico's official drink: white rum, sweet cream of coconut, a splash of heavy cream and fresh pineapple juice blended with ice, the way the Caribe Hilton shares its 1954 recipe.
Two places in San Juan sell themselves as the birthplace. The Caribe Hilton says its bartender Ramón "Monchito" Marrero spent three months in 1954 perfecting a blend of rum, coconut cream and pineapple juice, named it the piña colada and served it for 35 years (Hilton). Another Caribe Hilton bartender, Ricardo García, also claimed it, and Difford's Guide reports that Marrero himself gave an earlier date, August 15, 1952. In Old San Juan, a marble plaque at Restaurant Barrachina says the piña colada was created there in 1963 by Don Ramón Portas Mingot; InsideHook, quoting the Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails, notes Barrachina was described in the press as a new restaurant in 1965 (search summary). The name is older than all of them: Travel magazine described a "piña colada" of rum, pineapple, lime and sugar, with no coconut, in 1922 (Difford's; Wikipedia). Coco López, the canned cream of coconut that made the modern drink easy, was created in Puerto Rico by Ramón López Irizarry in 1954, and Puerto Rico proclaimed the piña colada its official drink in 1978 (Wikipedia).
Why it works the kitchen science
Two creams, two jobs
Sweetened cream of coconut brings the coconut flavor and sugar; a little heavy cream adds body and a rounder, milkshake-like texture.
Lots of juice, little ice
6 oz of pineapple juice and only 1/2 cup of ice keeps it drinkable and fruity rather than an icy slush.
Step by step
- Step 1
Method: Blended. Chill a 12-oz hurricane or tall glass in the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Step 2
Pour the rum, cream of coconut, heavy cream and pineapple juice into the blender.
- Step 3
Blend on low for 5 seconds to fold the thick cream of coconut into the juice.
- Step 4
Add the crushed ice and blend on high for about 15 seconds, until smooth and frothy.
- Step 5
Pour into the chilled glass; it should be pourable, like a thin milkshake.
- Step 6
Garnish with the pineapple wedge on the rim and the cherry on a pick, and serve with a straw.
Piña Colada (Caribe Hilton style)
Serves 1 · 1 drink (about 12 oz) · 5 min total
Drink
- 2 oz (60 ml) white rum (Puerto Rican style)
- 1 oz (30 ml) cream of coconut (sweetened, the canned cocktail kind; stir the can well first)
- 1 oz (30 ml) heavy cream
- 6 oz (180 ml) pineapple juice, fresh or unsweetened, chilled
- 1/2 cup crushed ice
Garnish
- 1 pineapple wedge
- 1 cocktail cherry
Method
- Method: Blended. Chill a 12-oz hurricane or tall glass in the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Pour the rum, cream of coconut, heavy cream and pineapple juice into the blender.
- Blend on low for 5 seconds to fold the thick cream of coconut into the juice.
- Add the crushed ice and blend on high for about 15 seconds, until smooth and frothy.
- Pour into the chilled glass; it should be pourable, like a thin milkshake.
- Garnish with the pineapple wedge on the rim and the cherry on a pick, and serve with a straw.
Adapted from the Caribe Hilton's original recipe as shared with Good Morning America (ABC News, July 10, 2021): 2 oz white rum, 1 oz coconut cream, 1 oz heavy cream, 6 oz fresh pineapple juice and 1/2 cup crushed ice, blended about 15 seconds and served in a 12-oz glass with a pineapple wedge and a cherry. The hotel's "coconut cream" here is the sweetened canned cream of coconut sold for cocktails (Wikipedia names Coco López as the usual one); we say so in the ingredient list. Our blend times are added. The IBA spec is lighter: 50 ml rum, 30 ml cream of coconut, 50 ml pineapple juice (Wikipedia). abcnews.go.com. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
Tips
- Fresh pineapple juice: blend 2 cups ripe pineapple chunks with 1/4 cup water and strain; it foams beautifully.
- Coconut cream (unsweetened, the top of a can of coconut milk) is not the same as cream of coconut; with it, add 1/2 oz simple syrup.
- Virgin piña colada: leave out the rum and add 1 oz more pineapple juice.
- Our math: about 1.3 US standard drinks, assuming 80-proof rum.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Monchito Marrero invented it at the Caribe Hilton in 1954. Disputed: the hotel's account (Hilton); Marrero reportedly gave 1952 (Difford's); Ricardo García also claimed it (Wikipedia; Difford's).
- Barrachina created it in 1963. Disputed: the plaque says so; the Oxford Companion, quoted by InsideHook, notes press reports of Barrachina as a new restaurant in 1965 (search summary).
- Pirate Roberto Cofresí served it to his crew. Folklore (Wikipedia, citing El Nuevo Diario).
- The piña colada is Puerto Rico's official drink. Documented: proclaimed in 1978 (Wikipedia).
- The first piña colada had coconut. Documented as false for the name: the 1922 Travel magazine drink had none (Difford's; Wikipedia).
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