Pina coladas aren’t just for tropical vacations
This summery drink is a cinch to make as long as you have a blender
Do you like pina coladas?
If you like things that taste delicious, the answer is probably yes. So why do we only ever drink them when we’re in a tropical paradise? Part of the reason is that very few urban cocktail bars offer pina coladas, since bartenders mostly have an aversion to blender drinks. Cleaning out the blender in between drinks slows service down and, worse, the whirring of the blades chopping up ice is considered a noisy intrusion.
You can make as much noise as you want at home, though, and, assuming you have a blender, the pina colada is actually pretty easy to make, as well as a great way to make our summer staycation seem a little more like an escape. And, while the juices are imports, the rum doesn’t have to be, thanks to Kinsip House of Fine Spirits’ Dark Waters rum, distilled in Prince Edward County’s Bloomfield.
The key to a smooth and tasty pina colada is to start with crushed ice — a technique vital to achieving consistency in all blender drinks. A really highend pro-blender can evenly pulverize full ice cubes but, for those of us at home with a standard Oster, tossing cubes in with the liquid and hitting high will make for an uneven consistency with lumps of ice.
So, crush your ice first with a) an old-fashioned hand-crank ice crusher, or b) putting cubes in a clean canvas bag and pounding it with a kitchen mallet.
Another mistake people often make with a pina colada is to try to make it with coconut milk. Sadly, it’s really hard to get that admittedly delicious ingredient to work in a cocktail. I’ve tried. Coconut cream, on the other hand, has a higher fat content than coconut milk and, handily, most supermarkets sell small cans of sweetened coconut cream (Coco Lopez or Coco Colada are common), which make drink-making easy.
Many recipes call for a lot of sweetened coconut cream — up to three ounces. The County Colada does not. It’s inspired by a traditional recipe from San Juan, Puerto Rico, where this famous tropical drink is said to have been invented in the 1950s. You can really taste the fresh pineapple shining through in this recipe, which can easily be drowned out with too much coconut cream.
One last tip: A tiny pinch of salt will help bring out the bright flavours of the pineapple, coconut, lime and dark rum. Much like in baking, a tiny bit of salt improves most cocktails that have citrus and other fruit.
Starting with the crushed ice, add all ingredients to the blender and blend on medium for 60 seconds or until the drink has a smooth, even consistency. Serve in a tulip glass with an orange wedge and an Amarena cherry for garnish.