The pina colada’s roots are discovered within the sunny, tropical locale you’d count on. Bartender Ramon ‘Monchito’ Marrero blended the primary piña colada on the Caribe Hilton in 1954 in none apart from San Juan, Puerto Rico, combining a handful of components — three to be precise — 4, in the event you rely the necessary umbrella garnish.
The cocktail went on to cement itself as a traditional, a lot so it was named the official drink of Puerto Rico in 2004 in celebration of the large 5-0. Whereas escapist traits are on the crux of the piña colada, it’s a drink that’s equally pleasing on residence soil as it’s overseas.
Hospitality speaks to Perhaps Group’s Stefano Catino and PS40’s Michael Chiem about shaken vs slush-ified piña coladas, ageing pineapples, and why they’ll all the time have a spot on the menu for the tropical sipper.
Bar skilled and Perhaps Group Co-Founder Stefano Catino has had his justifiable share of piña coladas over time. He’s a self-proclaimed “huge fan”, and has a pure appreciation for the lore of the drink, relaying tales of Puerto Rican pirates knocking again a model of the cocktail within the 1800s in addition to Escape, its namesake track by Rupert Holmes.
“It has a superb historical past,” he says. “It’s not a martini in fact, however now we have all the time had it listed within the classics part of the menu and it’s within the prime three rum cocktails. It’s all the time been there, and it’s in all probability bartender’s alternative once we go on vacation.”
The piña coladas Catino makes now are very totally different to his first. “Once I began making them (and I’m previous), we used coconut rum, but it surely was very dangerous,” he laughs. “Now, we use good coconut cream, recent pineapple juice, rum, and an umbrella.”
As with all minimal-ingredient cocktails, high quality issues, and the piña colada isn’t any exception. Catino combines equal elements (30ml) Bacardi Carta Blanca white rum with Plantation Stiggins Fancy Pineapple rum in a shaker earlier than including in recent pineapple juice and a beneficiant pour of Coco Lopez cream of coconut.
“The Fancy Pineapple rum provides extra to the drink and brings out the flavour and Coco Lopez is one of the best [coconut cream], it’s very thick.”

Catino “violently shakes” the combination with regular ice cubes to make sure minimal dilution. “Crushed ice dilutes the drink an excessive amount of and it’s not good with cream and pineapple juice,” he says, earlier than pouring the drink over giant cubes in a tall glass and ending with an umbrella.
“Whenever you consider garnish, it ought to mirror what’s contained in the drink. You need pineapple, possibly a mint sprig, a cherry, or a chunk of lime, and an umbrella — you could have a bit umbrella. You’ll want to go loopy — it’s a piña colada. I don’t suppose there’s a restrict on it, you should have enjoyable.”
As for riffs, there are a lot of. Catino mentions a piña colada Negroni made with coconut rum and pineapple liquor and a clarified milk punch, which sees bartenders extract the coconut and pineapple components. There’s additionally the Miami Vice: “It has been highly regarded everywhere in the world prior to now 5 years,” he says. “You employ a slushy machine and do a strawberry daquiri and a piña colada after which squirl half of every in a glass. When there are solely three components, there’s all the time one other resolution, it’s a really riff-able drink.”
Michael Chiem from PS40 is a superfan of the piña colada — it was even one of many drinks at his wedding ceremony. The bartender is of the idea that “even dangerous piña coladas can style good. I believe it’s a kind of drinks that may emulate the feeling of being on vacation,” he says. “It’s the quintessential tiki vacation drink that’s all about escapism.”
The Sydney bar runs a mango Weiss Bar-inspired cocktail in summer time earlier than switching over to the unique pineapple piña colada when mango season ends. “As a substitute of cold-pressed pineapple juice, we purée recent mango and use vodka as the bottom as a substitute of white rum,” says Chiem.
Each sit within the top-five drinks offered on the bar, however there’s all the time a couple of unhappy faces when the menu adjustments. “You possibly can by no means win,” says Chiem. “Each time the mango goes on, persons are completely happy, however others love the unique. We additionally preserve a watermelon one on as a result of it’s straightforward with the seasons and that’s made with sake, bergamot, and tequila. It permits us to do a Miami Vice which sells itself.”
With regards to the OG piña colada, Chiem begins by choosing pineapples based on his mum’s standards. “My background is Vietnamese and one in all our favorite dishes at house is canh chua [hot and sour soup] which is made with recent pineapple,” he says. “Mum taught me to all the time select pineapples with greater eyes after which allow them to ripen at room temperature till you possibly can scent them if you stroll in a room.
We go away them to ripen after which switch them to the cool room if now we have too many.” Chiem has spent many hours perfecting PS40’s piña colada, which is made with Plantation 3 Stars rum “which is one of the best bang-for-your-buck white rum but in addition your best-quality white rum for a piña colada”, he says.
“It has a pleasant roundness to it. Some unaged rums could be a little harsh or metallic, however 3 Stars is probably sippable, too.” The Caribbean rum is then teamed with 15ml of recent lime juice, cold-pressed pineapple juice, and 40ml Coco Lopez cream of coconut, which can be the sweetening agent. “However the one factor that makes our piña colada stand out is that we churn ours in a slushy machine.”
One other distinction is the absence of ice, a choice Chiem made in the course of the analysis section. “I requested bartender pals who had slushy machines and so they all talked about dilution,” he says. “Whenever you shake or stir a drink, you’re diluting it to a sure extent. You normally mix a piña colada, so I substituted the ice with extra pineapple juice which supplies it a greater texture because the slushy churns. It’s a little excessive, however I believe you possibly can style the distinction.”
The staff displays the machine to make sure the combination doesn’t get too icy, with the top product resembling the feel of free sorbet. “Generally we take it out and churn it via a Thermomix to eliminate any ice crystals and get it again to feeling gentle and fluffy,” says Chiem.
It’s one of many extra labour-intensive drinks to make although it goes right into a machine, with batches made on an almost-daily foundation apart from one when the machine will get a break earlier than it’s again to work. “Ideally we run via a full tub on the day, but when not, we preserve it within the tub in a single day at a freezing temperature so there’s no fear about it turning dangerous.”
The combination is served in 250ml glass bottles leftover from Covid cocktail deliveries, which turned out to be a fortuitous buy. “They’re fairly slim and maintain the feel rather well,” says Chiem. “If you happen to have been to make use of a wider vessel corresponding to a martini glass, you find yourself with a free, watery consistency on the surface and a thicker
consistency within the center, so this bottle works as you don’t have that cut up as a lot.”
The drink is completed off with a paper straw and “all the time an umbrella”, with the staff changing straws ought to friends want. However the consensus is official — the piña colada must be loved for what it’s: “A non-serious drink — it’s all the time a superb time.”