Piña Colada cocktail recipe

Few cocktails say ‘holiday’ more than this icon, mixing rum, coconut and pineapple in a winning creamy combination. Hailing from Puerto Rico, the Piña Colada is said to have been created by Ramon ‘Monchito’ Marrero back in the 1950s when he was a bartender at the Caribe Hilton Hotel in Puerto Rico. It has since become one of the most iconic – and delicious – cocktail in the world. 

With its dreamy blend of rum, coconut cream, lime and pineapple, it has just the right hit of sweetness. Even if you can’t get away on a real vacay, this delicious drink is bound to still put you in the holiday mood. It’s an especially great cocktail to pull out on those cold, wintery nights when you’re dreaming of beachside holidays.    

There are blended versions of this drink, as seen here with our recipe, but it can also be shaken and strained (see our top tips below), so it’s entirely up to you and your personal preference.   

Whichever way you make it, this creamy, fruity cocktail has just the right hit of sweetness, and it can even be a winner for those who aren’t usually into creamy cocktails. What’s not to love? There is even an international day of celebrations to honour this great cocktail each year – Piña Colada Day falls on July 10.

For this coconut and rum cocktail to be as bright, refreshing and fragrant as possible, use freshly pressed pineapple juice. Find some plump and ripe pineapples and juice them yourself or buy some good quality stuff. 

On the subject of juice, for best results, try to juice your limes as close to when you’re serving your drinks. This will keep it at its tangy best.  

And be sure to use cubed ice to blend your drink. You want enough cubes that won’t get churned to water too quickly, but you don’t want them to be too rough on your blender, either.

The Piña Colada can also be made as a strained cocktail. To make it this way, instead of pouring the listed ingredients in the first step into a blender, add them to a cocktail tin with ice, and shake until the outside of the tin is frosty. Then simply strain into a glass, fill it with ice and enjoy. 

We’ve been a little restrained with the garnishes here, but you can go full kitsch on the tropical touches, like mini umbrellas or pineapple fronds. It’s the quickest way to pretend you’re at a resort with friends, and not just hanging out in your loungeroom.

If you want to more coconut cocktails, you might like a Pineapple and Coconut Margarita, which combines all those delish tropical flavours, but with a tequila twist. Or you could get fancy with the Clarified Piña Colada (easier than it sounds), or go the easy hack with the Fizzy Colada. And to keep the holiday vibes going, try our Mai Tai, Blue Lagoon or Frozen Watermelon Margarita.