Piña colada

Etymology

The name piña colada (Spanish) literally means "strained pineapple", a reference to the freshly pressed and strained pineapple juice used in the drink's preparation.

History

The earliest known story states that in the 19th century, Puerto Rican pirate Roberto Cofresí, to boost his crew's morale, gave them a beverage or cocktail that contained coconut, pineapple and white rum. This was what would be later known as the famous piña colada. With his death in 1825, the recipe for the piña colada was lost. Historian Haydée Reichard disputes this version of the story.

In 1950 The New York Times reported that "Drinks in the West Indies range from Martinique's famous rum punch to Cuba's pina colada (rum, pineapple and coconut milk)."

The Caribe Hilton Hotel claims Ramón "Monchito" Marrero created the Piña Colada in 1954 while a bartender at the hotel. According to this account, Mr. Marrero finally settled upon the recipe for the Piña Colada, which he felt captured the true nature and essence of Puerto Rico. The hotel was presented with a proclamation in 2004 by Puerto Rico Governor Sila M. Calderón celebrating the drink's 50th anniversary.

Barrachina, a restaurant in Puerto Rico, says that "a traditional Spanish bartender Don Ramon Portas Mingot in 1963 created what became the world's famous drink: the Piña Colada."

In 1978 Puerto Rico proclaimed the cocktail its official drink.

Historically a few drops of fresh lime juice or bitters were added to taste.

In popular culture

In the United States, National Piña Colada Day is celebrated on 10 July.

The cocktail gained worldwide fame after Rupert Holmes released his 1979 song "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)", which became a popular hit around the world.

Jazz icon and flugelhorn player Chuck Mangione likewise released a tune titled "Piña Colada" on his 1979 album Fun and Games.

The cocktail serves as part of the title of the Garth Brooks song "Two Piña Coladas".

Preparation

As recounted by his friends in José L. Díaz de Villegas's book, the original Monchito recipe was to pour 85 grams of cream of coconut, 170 grams of pineapple juice and 43 grams of white rum into a blender or shaker with crushed ice, blend or shake very well until smooth, then pour into chilled glass and garnish with pineapple wedge and/or a maraschino cherry. Longdrink

There are many recipes for piña colada. The International Bartenders Association specifies it is:

Ingredients

• (one part) 3 cl (1.0 US fl oz) white rum
• (one part) 3 cl (1.0 US fl oz) coconut cream
• (3 parts) 9 cl (3.0 US fl oz) pineapple juice

Method

Mix with crushed ice in blender until smooth, then pour into a chilled glass, garnish and serve. Alternately, the three main components can simply be added to a cocktail glass with ice cubes.

In San Juan, Puerto Rico the recipe is:

Ingredients

• 1 US fl oz (3.0 cl) heavy cream
• 6 US fl oz (18 cl) freshly pressed pineapple juice
• 1 US fl oz (3.0 cl) cream of coconut
• 2 US fl oz (5.9 cl) rum (any flavor)
• 4 US fl oz (12 cl) (1/2 cup) crushed ice

Method

In a blender, combine cream of coconut, pineapple juice, heavy cream and rum. Add crushed ice and blend for 15 seconds. Pour in a desired 12-ounce container and use a cherry and fresh pineapple for a garnish.

Variations

Different proportions of the core ingredients, as well as different types of rum, may all be used in the piña colada. Frozen piña coladas are also served. Other named variations include:

• Amaretto colada – amaretto substituted for rum
• Chi chi – with vodka substituted for rum
• Lava Flow – strawberry daiquiri and piña colada blended together
• Virgin piña colada or piñita colada – without the rum, thus non-alcoholic
• Kiwi colada – with kiwifruit (fruit and syrup) in place of pineapple juice
• Soda colada – resembles original recipe but soda is used instead of coconut milk
• Kahlua colada – Substitute Kahlua (coffee liqueur) for rum.
• Scotsman colada – Substitute Scotch for rum.
• Staten Island Ferry is a cocktail consisting of equal parts Malibu (flavoured rum) and pineapple juice served over ice. In flavor it resembles a Piña Colada (due to the coconut flavor of Malibu rum). As it does not require cream of coconut, it is thus more easily prepared in bars that lack the specialty ingredients and blender that a Piña Colada would typically require.
• Caribou Lou - 1 oz of Malibu rum, 1.5 oz of 151 Proof Rum, and 5 oz of Pineapple Juice. Very strong.
• A Blue Hawaiian differs from a piña colada mainly by including blue Curaçao.