Piña Coladas

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These frozen piña coladas come together in minutes and are full of tropical flavor. An easy summer cocktail that’s a refreshing way to beat the heat!

I’m about to nerd out on you here, but I can’t think about piña coladas without thinking about Star-Lord from Guardians of the Galaxy. Just me? Known for his love of 70’s music thanks to a mix-tape his mom made for him before he was abducted by aliens, one of his favorite songs is “Escape (The Piña Colada Song)” by Robert Holmes. Ever since watching that movie I can’t make a piña colada without an image of Star-Lord escaping from space-prison popping into my head.

Well, we may not need to escape from space-prison, but if it’s hot as all get out in your neck of the woods you may want to escape the heat with a frozen piña colada. That sounds nice, doesn’t it?

Pro tip: You can also use this recipe to make frozen Miami Vice drink! 🍹

What is a Piña Colada?

A piña colada is a Puerto Rican cocktail made with rum, cream of coconut or coconut milk, and pineapple juice. It can be served over ice, or blended with the ice to make a frozen cocktail. Usually it is garnished with a pineapple wedge or a maraschino cherry (or both).

The name “piña colada” is Spanish for “strained pineapple” and refers to the way fresh pineapple is strained to make pineapple juice, which is one of the ingredients in this cocktail.

A Pirate’s Drink?

The earliest known version of the piña colada was served by Puerto Rican pirate Roberto Cofresi, who gave it to his grew to boost morale. Some historians dispute this story and the original recipe was lost when Cofresi died in 1825. A drink called piña colada later resurfaced in 1954 when bartender Ramón “Monchito” Marrero began serving piña coladas at the Caribe Hilton Hotel. In 1978, the piña colada became the official drink of Puerto Rico.

How alcoholic is piña colada?

This recipe has 5 ounces of rum so it is a bit stronger than a traditional piña colada. You can reduce the amount of rum to 3 ounces if you prefer. Because of the pineapple and cream of coconut, the rum flavor is not overpowering in this drink so sip slowly. This is the kind of cocktail you nurse on a sweltering summer day.

How to Make a Piña Colada

Equipment

You will need a high powered blender to make this piña colada recipe. Traditionally, piña coladas are served in hurricane glasses but no need to stand on ceremony – serve your cocktail in whatever glasses you like! This recipe makes 2 large drinks or 3-4 smaller ones.

Ingredients

Here’s a quick run down of the ingredients. Be sure to scroll down to the recipe card for specific amounts.

• Rum – This recipe uses both white and golden rum. Use a good quality rum, but it doesn’t have to be an expensive one. A top quality and more expensive rum would be something like Mount Gay Rum Black Barrel, but a bottom shelf inexpensive one would be something like Cruzan.
• Cream of coconut
• Pineapple juice
• Pineapple chunks – Frozen.
• Ice
• Garnish – Fresh pineapple wedges or maraschino cherries.

Making Your Frozen Cocktail

Now it’s time to make your piña coladas! It’s super easy. Like 2 steps easy.

• Place all the ingredients in a high powered blender and process until well combined.
• Pour into a hurricane glass and garnish each drink with a small pineapple wedge.

Tips & Suggestions

The process of making piña coladas is similar to the one for making frozen strawberry daiquiris, so my tips here may sound familiar:

• Pulse your blender. Because there is ice AND frozen pineapple in this recipe, your piña colada will be quite thick as you blend it. So pulse your blender and scrape down the sides a few times as you go.
• Use a straw. It is difficult to drink a frozen piña colada without a straw, so I highly recommend using one.
• Too thick? As I mentioned above, this cocktail will be thick right after you make it. But this is on purpose because on HOT days, your cocktail is going to start melting fast. If this bothers you then you can add a bit of water to loosen it up. I recommend adding no more than 2 tablespoons at a time, pulsing between additions so that you don’t accidentally water down your cocktail.
• Want to make this a virgin piña colada? Replace the rum with an equal amount of pineapple juice.

If You Like Piña Colada Lyrics

And just for fun, let’s end with the piña colada section of Escape (The Piña Colada Song). You can find the full lyrics on Google or listen to the song on YouTube.

I was tired of my lady
We’d been together too long
Like a worn out recording
Of a favorite song

So while she lay there sleepin’
I read the paper in bed
And in the personal columns
There was this letter I read

If you like piña coladas
And gettin’ caught in the rain
If you’re not into yoga
If you have half a brain
If you like makin’ love at midnight
In the dunes on the cape
Then I’m the love that you’ve looked for
Write to me and escape

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