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Nothing says summer like a Pina Colada, the delicious combination of coconut and pineapple make this one of the most refreshing summer cocktails you can make.
Where did the name Piña Colada come from?
The name actually means strained pineapple (source), referring to the fresh pineapple juice that is one of the key ingredients in this cocktail.
How do you make a Pina Colada?
To make a Pina Colada, you need rum (or pineapple rum in my case), pineapple juice, coconut milk or cream of coconut and fresh pineapple for the garnish.
To prepare, you can either serve the ingredients mixed together or make a blended version of the drink, which is quite popular. To make the blended version, blend all ingredients with ice in a blender and serve in a hurricane-style glass or something similar to the one pictured above.
For the mixed drink, simply add the ingredients with ice to the same style of glass and garnish with a pineapple slice. The choice is yours!
Cream of Coconut vs Coconut Cream in your Pina Colada
Believe it or not these are two different things (and I didn’t know this until I went to make this cocktail). Cream of Coconut is the one you want for cocktails and you can find this where you buy your mixes. Here in Canada, this tends to be in the grocery store mixes aisle, but this may vary depending on where you live. The can on the left is the one you’d typically use for this cocktail, while the one on the right (Coconut Cream) is unsweetened and not typically a good choice. You could use the coconut cream but the flavor wouldn’t be as good (or the texture as smooth). If you want a great dessert to go with this cocktail, try this delicious Pineapple Slice.
Substituting Pineapple Rum for White Rum
Rum is the most commonly used ingredient in a standard Pina Colada but I wanted to make use of a bottle of Pineapple Rum I had kicking around so I decided to incorporate it into this cocktail. It’s an easy substitute given the flavor profile so instead of standard rum, that was my spirit of choice. You can, of course, use whichever you prefer. If you want more of a pineapple kick, use pineapple rum, if not, use the standard stuff. The choice is yours. If you enjoy a good rum cocktail, try my Blue Hawaiian as well.
Safe drinking!
Mr. Magpie
Pina Colada
- Prep Time
- 5 minutes
- Total Time
- 5 minutes
- Course
- Cocktail
- Cuisine
- Cocktail
- Servings
- 1
- Calories
- 233
- Equipment
- Blender (for frozen version), Shot glass, Bar spoon
- Author
- Karlynn Johnston
Ingredients
- 1 ounce Pineapple Rum
- 1 ounce Cream of Coconut
- 3 ounces Pineapple Juice
Instructions
- For frozen, combine ingredients in a blender with ice and blend.
- For normal, combine ingredients in a glass with ice and stir.
- Pour into a glass, garnish with a pineapple slice and serve.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Information
All calories and info are based on a third party calculator and are only an estimate. Actual nutritional info will vary with brands used, your measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
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Tim says
Hi. I’m dying to make you PINA COLADA recipe. Unfortunately, I’m unable to find “cream of coconut”. I live in Alberta. Where did you find it?
Tim
Patrick says
My mother is from Panama. I was taught tha you always use a dark rum. In Panama its ‘Ron Abuelos’ but dark bracradi is fine. I have used clear Bacardi Coconut rum. I think that is better than pineapple but thats me. Oh and the oneyou have pictured there, coco lope, it is the best. Goya has theirs but i pefer coco lopez…..never used that asian cream of coco… Smh this is a Latino drink! Lol