Piña colada
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 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (March 2012) |
| IBA official cocktail | |
|---|---|
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| Type | Cocktail |
| Base spirit | |
| Served | Frozen: blended with ice |
| Standard garnish | pineapple slice and maraschino cherry |
| Standard drinkware |  |
| IBA specified ingredients† |
|
| Preparation | Mix with crushed ice until smooth. Pour into chilled glass, garnish and serve. |
| † Piña Colada recipe at International Bartenders Association | |
The piña colada (/pinja kolada/ 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]
Origin
The name Piña Colada literally means 'strained pinecone', but 'strained pineapple' as a phrase - a reference to the freshly pressed and strained pineapple juice used in the drink's preparation.
Three Puerto Rican bartenders contest the ownership of their national drink. Ramón 'Monchito' Marrero Pérez claims to have first made it at the Caribe Hilton Hotel's Beachcomber Bar in San Juan on 15 August 1952, using the then newly-available Coco López cream of coconut. Coco López was developed in Puerto Rico in 1948 by Don Ramón López-Irizarry, hence the Puerto Rican connection and the 1952 account of the drink's creation. Some say the drink did not acquire its name until the 1960s.
Ricardo García, who also worked at the Caribe, says that it was he who invented the drink, while Ramón Portas Mingot says he created it in 1963 at the Barrachina Restaurant, 104 Fortaleza Street, Old San Juan; the restaurant stands by his claim to this day.
The Caribe Hilton Hotel sits on a 17-acre peninsula outside San Juan and was the first luxury hotel to open in the region, becoming a popular destination for the rich and famous who helped spread word of the drink.
A key ingredient for a 'Puerto Rican' style Piña Colada is 'cream of coconut', not be confused with coconut cream ('Cuban' style Piña Colada contains no coconut cream). Cream of coconut is made by mixing coconut juice, sugar, emulsifier, cellulose, thickeners, citric acid and salt and is sold in 15oz/425ml cans which make 14 to 25 drinks depending on taste. Once opened the can's contents should be stored in a refrigerator: this may thicken the product, so gentle warming may be required prior to use.
National Piña Colada Day is celebrated on the islands on 10 July.
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 11⁄2 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[2]
- Lava Flow — strawberry daiquiri and piña colada blended together[3]
- Staten Island Ferry — coconut rum and pineapple juice over ice
- Virgin piña colada or piñita colada — without the rum
See also
- Coco López
- "Escape" - also known as "The Piña Colada Song"
- Ramón López Irizarry
References
- ^ "Celebrate Two of Mankind's Greatest Inventions". Retrieved 2007-06-19.
- ^ "Frozen/Mixed — Amaretto Colada". Retrieved 2007-06-20.
- ^ "Lava Flow". Retrieved 2007-06-20.
External links
