Piña colada
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (March 2012) |
| IBA official cocktail | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Mixed drink |
| Base spirit | |
| Served | Blended |
| Standard garnish | Pineapple slice and/or maraschino cherry |
| Standard drinkware | Poco |
| IBA specified ingredients† |
|
| Preparation | Mix with crushed ice in blender until smooth. Pour into chilled glass, garnish and serve. |
| Notes | Alternately, the three main components can simply be added to a cocktail glass with ice cubes. |
| † Piña colada recipe at International Bartenders Association | |
The piña colada (/ˌpiːnjə koʊˈlɑːdə, -nə-, -kə-/;[1][2] Spanish: piña [ˈpiɲa], "pineapple," and colada [koˈlaða], "strained") is a sweet cocktail made with rum, coconut cream or coconut milk, and pineapple juice, usually served either blended or shaken with ice. It may be garnished with either a pineapple wedge, maraschino cherry, or both. The piña colada has been the national drink of Puerto Rico since 1978.
Etymology
The name piña colada literally means "strained pineapple", a reference to the freshly pressed and strained pineapple juice used in the drink's preparation.
History
The earliest known story states that in the 19th century, Puerto Rican pirate Roberto Cofresí, to boost his crew's morale, gave them a beverage or cocktail that contained coconut, pineapple and white rum.[3] This was what would be later known as the famous piña colada. With his death in 1825, the recipe for the piña colada was lost. Historian Haydée Reichard disputes this version of the story.[4]
In 1950 The New York Times reported that "Drinks in the West Indies range from Martinique's famous rum punch to Cuba's pina colada (rum, pineapple and coconut milk)."[5]
The Caribe Hilton says that Ramón "Monchito" Marrero created the Piña Colada in 1954, when a bartender at the hotel. After three months of experimentation, Mr. Marrero finally settled upon the recipe for the Piña Colada, which he felt captured the true nature and essence of Puerto Rico.[6] The hotel was presented with a proclamation in 2004 by Puerto Rico Governor Sila M. Calderón celebrating the drink's 50th anniversary.[7]
Barrachina, a restaurant in Puerto Rico, says that "a traditional Spanish bartender Don Ramon Portas Mingot in 1963 created what became the world's famous drink: the Piña Colada."[8]
In 1978 Puerto Rico officially proclaimed the cocktail its national drink.[4]
In popular culture
National Piña Colada Day is celebrated on the islands on 10 July.
This cocktail gained fame in Puerto Rico from 1978, and it gained worldwide fame after Rupert Holmes released his 1979 song "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)", which became a popular hit around the world.
Jazz icon and flugelhorn player Chuck Mangione likewise released a tune titled "Piña Colada" on his 1979 album Fun and Games.
In The Godfather Part II (1974), in the scenes set in Cuba, the characters are offered Piña Coladas several times.
The cocktail serves as part of the title of the Garth Brooks song "Two Piña Coladas".
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 85 grams of coconut cream, 170 grams of pineapple juice and 43 grams 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 of the core ingredients, as well as different types of rum, may all be used in the piña colada. Frozen piña coladas are also served. Other named variations include:
- Amaretto colada – amaretto substituted for rum[9]
- Chi chi – with vodka substituted for rum
- Lava Flow – strawberry daiquiri and piña colada blended together[10]
- Virgin piña colada or piñita colada – without the rum, thus non-alcoholic
- Kiwi colada – with kiwifruit (fruit and syrup) in place of pineapple juice
- Soda colada – resembles original recipe but soda is used instead of coconut milk
- Kahlua colada – Substitute Kahlua (coffee liqueur) for rum.
Staten Island Ferry is a cocktail consisting of equal parts Malibu rum and pineapple juice served over ice. In flavor it resembles a Piña Colada (due to the coconut flavor of Malibu rum). As it does not require coconut cream, it is thus more easily prepared in bars that lack the specialty ingredients and blender that a Piña Colada would typically require.
Variants of Blue Hawaii with creme of coconut differ from piña colada mainly by including also blue Curaçao.
See also
References
- ^ "piña colada". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
- ^ "piña colada". Oxford Dictionaries UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. n.d. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
- ^ "Con diez cañones por banda... y una piña colada en la mano". El Nuevo Diario. 9 July 2008. Archived from the original on 10 May 2009. Retrieved 11 April 2009.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|dead-url=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ a b Tatiana Pérez Rivera (10 August 2014). "Nuestra piña colada cumple 60 años: Esta bebida nacional ha formado parte de la cultura popular boricua durante seis décadas". El Nuevo Dia. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
- ^ "AT THE BAR". The New York Times. 16 April 1950.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 19 August 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "History of Caribe Hilton". Retrieved 8 November 2018.
- ^ "Best Restaurant In Old San Juan Puerto Rico". www.barrachina.com.
- ^ "Frozen/Mixed — Amaretto Colada". Archived from the original on 15 February 2003. Retrieved 20 June 2007.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|dead-url=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Lava Flow". Retrieved 20 June 2007.
External links
