Pina Colada — Pina Colada was invented to hide bad rum — but with

The Pina Colada was invented to hide bad rum — but with good rum, it’s legitimately smooth.

Ingredients

• 2 oz white rum
• 1 oz cream of coconut
• 3 oz fresh pineapple juice
• 1 cherry
• Garnish: a pineapple wedge
• Garnish: a cherry

Method

Grab your blender and add the rum first. Then the cream of coconut and pineapple juice. Add one cup of ice — that’s about six to eight cubes. Blend on high for ten seconds until it’s smooth and frothy. You want the consistency of a milkshake, thick enough to hold its shape but loose enough to pour. If it’s too thick, add a splash more pineapple juice. If it’s too thin, add more ice and blend again. The key is that ten-second blend time — any longer and you’ll over-dilute it.

Serve

Serve this in a tall Collins glass with no additional ice — the blended ice is your dilution and chill. Garnish with a pineapple wedge and a maraschino cherry on a pick.

Pro Tip

Here’s the pro tip — try making this shaken instead of blended sometime. Same ingredients, same ratios, but shake hard with ice and strain over fresh ice. You lose the creamy texture but gain clarity and brightness. It’s a completely different drink that shows off the rum instead of hiding it. Both versions have their place.