Who Invented the Piña Colada?

Is there a cocktail more summer-y than the piña colada? Just one taste of rum, pineapple, and coconut and you’re instantly transported to an island getaway. But how did the official drink of Puerto Rico come to be? Just who was the first to come up with this magically tropical combination anyway?

The oldest legend traces the cocktail back to the early 19th century, when Puerto Rican pirate Roberto Cofresí mixed white rum, pineapple juice, and coconut milk and served it to his crew in an attempt to boost morale. What better way to raise spirits than with free spirits, right? When he died in 1825, his official recipe was lost to history.

While various iterations of the beverage were served over the centuries that followed, the piña colada as we know it didn’t come to fruition until the 1950s. In 1954 one of its key ingredients–Coco Lopez, a pre-made coconut cream– was invented. It quickly became popular and highly influential in the island’s culinary scene. This proved instrumental in giving rise to the modern day piña colada, as did the technological advent of blenders.

However, here’s where things get a little sticky. In the decade that followed, three bartenders claim to have created the drink. And the supporting evidence for each of them is a bit spotty. Ramón “Monchito” Marrero Pérez  insists he was the first. Pérez, a bartender at the Caribe Hilton, a luxury hotel in the heart of San Juan, was tasked with coming up with a signature drink for their Beachcomber Bar. He allegedly experimented with a variety of ingredients, including the newly available Coco Lopez, for over three months before coming up with the now-classic combination in 1954. Pérez was so dedicated to his drink that he literally served it for a lifetime. He worked as a bartender at the Caribe for 35 years until his retirement in 1989.

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Fellow Caribe Hilton bartender Ricardo García, however, insists the drink was actually his brainchild. In a 2005 interview with Coastal Magazine he explained that the drink was the result of necessary improvisation. In 1954 the coconut-cutters union went on strike, which prevented him from serving up a popular drink composed of rum, coconut cream, and ice in a hollowed out coconut shell. The lack of available coconuts forced him to use hollowed out pineapple instead. As the drink got more and more popular he started adding freshly pressed and strained pineapple juice into it as well. The name piña colada loosely translates to “strained pineapple,” so this account seems entirely plausible.

Related Video: How to Make Three Poolside Cocktails

The hotel stands by Pérez’s account and the Caribe Hilton has since acquired not one, but two proclamations by Puerto Rico’s governors hailing it the official “Birthplace of the Piña Colada,” one in 2000 and the other in 2014, which marked the drinks 60th anniversary.

However, just two miles west of the Caribe Hilton is another establishment that claims they’re the true creators of the drink. Restaurant Barrachina may not have an official government proclamation to prove it, but they do have a plaque out front. The sign states that renowned Spanish mixologist Ramon Portas Mingot first concocted the drink there in 1963. The date of invention seems a little late comparatively, but hey, who knows, right?!

Restaurant Barrachina

Regardless of its nebulous origins, the drink went on to become a worldwide sensation and quickly caught on in the United States as the drink of choice for glamorous and wealthy Americans who could afford to vacation in such tropical locales. Joan Crawford allegedly said the piña colada was “better than slapping Bette Davis in the face.” It’s a statement that functions as giant praise and amazing Hollywood lore.

In 1978, the piña became the official drink of Puerto Rico. That same year, Rupert Holmes went on to release his biggest hit, “Escape (The Piña Colada Song),” a yacht rock classic about two equally horrible, married people who rediscover each other given the power of classified ads and coconut cocktails. It may be a cringeworthy association, but at least it’s not Margaritaville!

If you’d like to take a stab at making your own piña colada, try our classic recipe. And if you’re in the mood for something a less traditional, take look at these inspiring pineapple-based cocktails.

Piña Colada

Go Beyond Piña Coladas This Summer with These Pineapple Cocktails

What Is the Difference Between Piña Coladas and Daiquiris?

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What Is the Difference Between Piña Coladas and Daiquiris?

Though they’re both pool party staples, piña coladas and daiquiris are not to be confused. They’re both rum-based cocktails, but that’s where the similarities of these historic cocktails end. Piña coladas—which translates to “strained pineapple”—are made from rum, coconut cream, and pineapple juice. You can substitute different types of rum to change the flavor profile and many variations exist, including frozen piña coladas, which are often garnished with fresh pineapple and maraschino cherries. Named the National Drink of Puerto Rico, Rupert Holmes’s 1979 hit “Escape (The Piña Colada song)” made the drink famous worldwide.

Although daiquiris have an equally fun island aesthetic, they are actually a traditional sour, made with a base liquor of rum, lime juice, and a sweetener (often simple syrup). Daiquiris can come in many flavors and are often frozen—popular flavors include strawberry, banana, avocado, and watermelon. Named after Daiquirí, the small Cuban mining town that the US invaded during the Spanish-American War, daiquiris became popular in the US in the early 1900s. Easy to make with only three ingredients, the shaken, not frozen, daiquiri is becoming more popular.

Check out these nine recipes for delicious daiquiris and piña coladas and get your summer soiree started off right.

Classic Daiquiri

Chowhound

This is an easy classic that you can doctor with different fruit juices and additions. Start with just the basics: rum, fresh lime juice, and simple syrup, with plenty of fresh ice. Get our Classic Daiquiri recipe.

Classic Piña Colada

Bochkarev Photography/Shutterstock

This is the traditional recipe for a piña colada, with light rum. Be sure that you’re using coconut cream (not coconut milk) and you can use dark rum to make the flavors more complex. Get our Piña Colada recipe.

Frozen Pineapple Daiquiri

Chowhound

Frozen chunks of pineapple add a great tropical twist to this daiquiri recipe and keep the texture smooth—the frozen fruit also prevents any watered-down flavors since you’re subbing it in for additional ice. Get our Frozen Pineapple Daiquiri recipe.

Grilled Pineapple Daiquiri

Chowhound

Once you’ve mastered the frozen pineapple daiquiri, take it to the next level with this white rum-based drink. The charred pineapple adds a caramelized sweetness to the cocktail that pairs beautifully with grilled meats. Get our Grilled Pineapple Daiquiri recipe.

Pietro Collina’s Daiquiri

Lizzie Munro/Punch

Homemade cane syrup with a 2:1 cane sugar to water ratio and double strained lime juice is what makes this daiquiri recipe so crisp and clean. Garnish with a slice of lime. Get the recipe.

Probiotic Piña Colada

Front + Main

This is the “healthy” take on a cocktail you would never think exists—making your own coconut milk into a yogurt-like consistency with the addition of probiotics and layering it with a blend of amaretto, rum, lime, and pineapple juice. Like an alcoholic smoothie, this blend is part healthy choice and part party in a glass. Get the recipe.

Frozen Watermelon Daiquiri

Striped Spatula

Cut the watermelon into cubes, freeze them, and blend with rum, lime juice, simple syrup, and orange juice. You can freeze the cubed watermelon months in advance and have these ready to go for a party at a moment’s notice. Get the recipe.

Frozen Piña Colada

Saveur

This frozen piña colada is enriched with half-and-half and finished with Angostura bitters. Use half light rum and half dark rum and crushed, canned pineapple instead of pineapple juice to add even more flavor. Get the recipe.

Hemingway Daiquiri

Jacquelyn Clark

Inspired by Ernest Hemingway and invented at the legendary Floridita bar in Havana, this take has cherry liqueur and grapefruit juice with much less sweetness than a traditional daiquiri. It’s also called a Papa Doble. Get the recipe.

Related Video: How Not to F@%& Up a Daiquiri

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Kanafeh (Middle Eastern Cheese and Phyllo Dessert)

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11 Frozen Versions of Your Favorite Cocktails

With summer in full swing we’re right in the midst of outdoor boozing season. Bevs like piña coladas and frozen daiquiris may be delicious on their own, but they’re pretty much the last things you’ll want to pair with gut-destroying hot dogs, hamburgers, and grandma’s infamous potato salad.

If you’re looking for a refreshing, non sugar coma-inducing drink to sip on while binging on food from the grill, look no further than these frozen versions of your well-known cocktails. From mojitos and rosé to negronis and Bloody Marys, the list is proof that nearly all of your favorite alcohols can be turned into slushies and served during our warmest months.

Frozen Coffee Shots

Chowhound

If you need a little caffeine with your booze, opt for these frozen coffee shots. Honestly, we don’t praise Kahlúa enough. Get our Frozen Coffee Shots recipe.

Slushy Blended Margarita

Chowhound

The idea of frozen margaritas isn’t novel, but we’ll never scoff at an annual reminder to stock up on necessary ingredients. Stop…tequila time! Get our Slushy Blended Margarita recipe.

Frozen Bloody Mary

Your favorite hair of the dog drink gets fancy with the simple addition of crushed ice. But can you stomach the idea of spicy frozen tomatoes? After a night of binge drinking, do you even care? Get the recipe.

Frozen Mojito

Mint meets ice to create one of the most refreshing summer cocktails you can get your hands on. And you don’t have to head to Cuba to try it. Get the recipe.

Negroni Slushy

Bottle Notes

Though it may be an aperitif, this negroni slushy instantly becomes a palate cleanser. Either way, it will make you say “ah.” Get the recipe.

Frosé

There’s no denying that rosé elevates any summer day, but brunchgoers flipped with the introduction of “frosé” last year. Now you can make it within the comforts of your own kitchen. Get the recipe.

Frozen Peach Bellini

Damn Delicious

They say you shouldn’t mess with a good thing when you have it, but freezing a peach bellini takes an already perfect cocktail and makes it extra special. Get the recipe.

Frozen Dark & Stormy

Food Republic

Ginger is already refreshing, so you can probably imagine how amazing this tastes after a long day of gossiping, shopping, laying in the park and NOT doing anything athletic. The thought of the latter…in extreme heat…makes us cringe. Get the recipe.

Frozen Cosmopolitan

This has got to be Carrie Bradshaw’s favorite drink to sip on in the Hamptons. If it isn’t, someone phone Big and tell him to make this for her stat. Get the recipe.

Frozen Sangria

Our favorite wine and fruit blend mixed with ice and served in a tall glass? All we have to say is: Olé! Get the recipe.

Frozen Moscow Mule

Our favorite part of a Moscow Mule is the ice nuggets, so a frozen version may take some getting used to. That being said, we’re sure this not-so-difficult-to-imagine variation delivers. Get the recipe.

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Try This! 4 Great Add-Ins for Hummus

When you are pondering an appetizer for a party, you can never go wrong with hummus. It’s popular with kids and adults, it’s easy to make in quantities large or small, and it’s highly adaptable.

Earthy, savory, creamy, protein-packed: hummus is a great base for all kinds of add-ins.

Sure there are a bunch of pre-made flavor variations available at the store, but it’s so easy to make your own “house” version. Then you not only have a crowd-pleasing party appetizer (or snack), you also have bragging rights!

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Throw an Italian Aperitivo That Will Put Summer Happy Hours to Shame

The tradition of Italian aperitivo is, by its very nature, a civilized affair. Drinks are light, lively, and low in alcohol. Snacks are simple, artful, and typically nibbly bites intended to be eaten with one’s hands. The equivalent of the U.S. happy hour, the aperitivo, or “opening,” is meant to provide stimulation, both socially and to one’s appetite, for the evening ahead. Many bars in Italy offer a modest buffet of snacks during aperitivo, where the purchase of a drink entitles you to a small plate of antipasti and the like. Contrary to the custom of happy hour in the States, however, where one might resourcefully make a gut-busting dinner out of discounted beers, free snack mix, and 50-cent wings, the point of aperitivo is restraint. Not filling up is the game. The main event is yet to come.

If you feel like you could go for a strong dose of civility right now, why not throw a supremely cool, low-commitment, early evening festa for a handful of friends in the Italian aperitivo style? Your kitchen, patio, or even conference room can provide a perfect setting, and since informality is the name of the game, you needn’t sweat too many details on this one.

Atmosfera (Ambiance)

The Italian language has a lovely way of saying “making something out of nothing,” which is “l’arte d’arrangiarsi.” The art of arranging oneself. Let this be your guide. Put the handful of Italian flags down and walk away. Run from the urge to acquire a red-checkered table cloth. Flee the scene if you had even a fleeting thought of googling “accordion player for hire.” We’re going here for classy and autentico. A set of wine glasses, either glass or plastic, stemmed or stemless, will serve for all beverages outlined below. Amass a set of mismatched appetizer plates from the nether regions of your cabinets, or get help from garage sales or resale stores for spunky charm. Try a contemporary Italian jazz artist on the sound system such as Piero Bittolo Bon’s album “Big Hell on Air.”

Bevande (Drinks)

Chowhound

While it might go against everything we hold dear in this country regarding alcohol consumption, there is much to be cherished in a tradition that emphasizes fresh, lower-proof spirits to begin the evening. You need only a few key ingredients that, mostly in the vein of bubbles and bitters, will have a much larger impact on the impressed-ness of your guests than they will on your wallet. First, you’ll need a good amount of prosecco on hand, both as an easy option for those who fear you’re not trying hard enough to get them drunk, and as a mixer for option number two: spritzes. You might know them as Aperol Spritzes, but much in the same way buffalo wings are just “wings” in Buffalo, in Italy an Aperol Spritz is simply a spritz. Bubbly, lightly bitter, and beautiful in color, a spritz pairs as elegantly with light, salty snacks as it does with a setting sun. Finally, you might only think of vermouth as as that other ingredient that goes in your martini or Manhattan, but it is a lovely beverage in its own right—a fortified, aromatized wine that needs only some ice and perhaps a twist of citrus for it to sing for you. Cocchi di Torino with notes of absinthe and rhubarb is a good one to try.

Sputini (Snacks)

Chowhound

Here’s where you can decide how hard you want to show off for this party. The beauty of aperitivo is that you can make an artful arrangement of olives, nuts, breadsticks, and an antipasto platter and call it a day—an approach which is both light enough to uphold the early evening spirit of the event, and hearty enough for anyone who wants to make a meal out of it. If you can’t fathom hosting an event where you don’t at least try to dazzle your guests with culinary prowess, prepare a few items that can be made ahead of time and served room temperature, such as Pickled Eggplant, Mini Frittatas, or Fava Bean and Pecorino Crostini. Finally, if you are struck with a rush of moxie that inspires you to toss civility to the curb, you can really crank it to undici (eleven) by setting up a fry station and putting out heavenly batches of Fried Chickpeas with Sage and Tomato-Basil Arancini.

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What Is the Difference Between AmazonFresh and Prime Now?

Amazon has completely changed the way the world shops, and yes, that includes how we buy groceries. The e-commerce juggernaut offers several food delivery services including Prime Now and AmazonFresh. In advance of Prime Day, which promises 36 hours of big sales on Monday, July 16, we break down the differences between these two programs and what they mean for consumers.

Prime Now is a service that is free for all Amazon Prime members. Prime Now offers free delivery within two hours for an array of groceries and household products, even toys, electronics, and pet supplies. And given their acquisition of Whole Foods, you can also get fresh produce, meat and dairy sent directly from those stores. For an additional fee, you can also have products delivered to your door within an hour. As amazing as this service may sound, it’s only available in a few select locations, however the list of areas that have access to this program is ever-changing. You can search for your zip code on their site to see whether or not you qualify.

While Prime Now is available to anyone with an Amazon Prime subscription, AmazonFresh is an add-on service that costs an additional fee (as of now it’s an extra $14.99 a month). AmazonFresh is exclusively focused on grocery delivery. The service allows you to schedule the delivery time that is most convenient to you. The groceries are also delivered in insulated packaging and reusable totes to help guarantee freshness. Unlike Prime Now, AmazonFresh deliveries are not free, unless your order exceeds a certain amount.

Amazon

Whether or not either of these services are ideal for you depends on a lot of factors, most notably your geographic location and your budget. But even if you’re not willing to shell out the extra bucks for door-to-door delivery, Amazon Prime members are also eligible for certain discounts at Whole Foods. So even if you’re doing your grocery shopping the old-fashioned way, you can still take advantage of Amazon’s price points.

There also rumors that the two services may merge or become more interconnected in the coming months. Given recent layoffs and staff consolidation, these changes may be imminent. It’s also worth noting that Amazon ended Amazon Fresh operations in parts of California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia last November, as a result of a small user base. Considering all of these rapid changes, it’s hard to say what Amazon’s role in the grocery game will be in the long-term, but one thing’s for sure, the e-commerce giant is determined to be a part of it.

Related Video: Prices at Whole Foods Are Rising Despite Amazon Acquisition, According to New Report

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