A Piña Colada

Yes, that's right, a Piña Colada, that much-maligned drink which you invariably get served terrible watery versions of on every Pacific Island holiday. I come to it now because last week I cooked a couple of my favourite Thai dishes and as usual I had some coconut milk left over. So what's a boy to do other than make a Piña Colada?

Because lurking behind that dubious coconutty slurry that graces every Fiji Happy Hour is actually a delicious tropical cocktail. In New Zealand bars it is, however, one that is currently absolutely out of fashion. Negronis and sophisticated slightly bitter cocktails are the order of the day right now, Piña Coladas represent the very depth of bad taste.

Well screw that I say. I like something sweet and fruity that makes me think of golden sands and gently lapping waves. And that's what this recipe does for me. It's my own personal one so feel free to suggest your own. Some people add lime juice. In fact in certain specialist circles overseas the Piña Colada has become quite refined and complicated: I saw a recipe the other day using 4 different rums! As you might suspect, these newer styles are usually considerably stronger in alcohol.  

OK. A little history...

The Piña Colada – Spanish for strained pineapple – was officially invented on August 15 1954 by a bartender named Ramón “Monchito” Marrero at the Caribe Hilton’s Beachcomber Bar in San Juan, Puerto Rico. For the next 35 years, he personally served his cocktail while he bartended at the hotel. Come 1978, the Piña Colada was declared the official drink of Puerto Rico.

I hope you don't think this too common (and possibly too kitsch!) to offer a recipe for. There's generally a reason for the popularity of things and you often just have to do them properly to realise what that reason is. I reckon this is a Piña Colada done properly.

PIŃA COLADA

Ingredients

• 30ml light rum
• 60ml coconut milk
• 90ml pineapple juice
• 15ml simple syrup (50/50 water/sugar)
  

Method

• Shake everything with plenty of ice
• Strain into a glass over ice
• Garnish with a paper umbrella and/or pineapple wedge (NOT a bloody cherry)
  

The are a couple of things worth considering that people sometimes miss, things I think really make or break this drink. Firstly there's the simple syrup. Back in Ramón's day they used cream of coconut which was sweeter than coconut cream. The simple syrup makes up for that and the sweetness brings the drink alive. Also, use the best pineapple juice you can get, unsweetened 100% pure - it really does makes a difference.

NOTE: In case you were going to ask, I hate crushed ice, and it's a pain to make without a machine. And it makes things watery. I'm also not a fan of "frozen" versions, which are blended with crushed ice, but each to their own.  

ANOTHER NOTE: I reckon coconut cream is too heavy. The original recipe thinned it with regular cream but even that seems too rich to me. Try the coconut milk you didn't use in the Thai stir-fry... or if you're making two or three use those little 180ml cans from the supermarket - a perfect size!

LAST NOTE: This isn't a very boozy drink. If that troubles you there is an easy solution: add more rum if you like more rum. Doubling it does no harm at all.