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Cocktails

A Piña Colada for Every Mood

June 14, 2023

Story: Punch Staff

photo: Anthony J. Rayburn

Cocktails

A Piña Colada for Every Mood

June 14, 2023

Story: Punch Staff

photo: Anthony J. Rayburn

From a Chartreuse-spiked modern classic to a low-proof rendition and more.

There are few cocktails more evocative of a beach vacation than the iconic Piña Colada. An unparalleled emblem of carefree drinking, the quintessential summertime cocktail has become the inspiration for countless original concoctions as bartenders seek to stretch the bounds of the formula.

For some, this means swapping or splitting the traditional rum base. In Natasha David and Maxwell Britten’s Absinthe Colada, for example, a half-ounce of grassy rhum agricole complements an ounce and a half of Swiss verte-style absinthe and a teaspoon of crème de menthe, alongside the expected coconut and pineapple. Rum meets... more rum, in Demi Natoli’s Congas y Coladas, which offers a savory spin on the formula thanks to her Doña’s Mix, a cumin-infused take on Donn’s Mix. Ran Duan’s Sherry Colada, meanwhile, ditches the rum altogether in favor of amontillado sherry, which lends a rich, nutty through line to his low-proof take on the classic.

For others, the craveability of the Piña Colada arrives in the guise of another cocktail entirely. Chris Amirault, for instance, melds the pineapple and coconut of the poolside classic into the structure of an aperitif cocktail in his White Negroni Piña Colada served on the rocks, while Ryan Chetiyawardana transforms the creamy cocktail into a clear, bubbly long drink. Of course, nobody is stopping you from whipping up the classic in its traditional form, either. Each of these recipes is equally suited to the beach as to the depths of winter; the Piña Colada is, after all, always in season.

Pina Colada
Recipes

Piña Colada

The original frozen, fanciful umbrella drink.

Sweet Liberty Pina Colada
Recipes

Sweet Liberty’s Piña Colada

Two whole coffee beans are the secret to balance in this take on the classic.

rum to the jungle cocktail recipe
Recipes

Rum to the Jungle

A nut-free riff on the Mai Tai calls on housemade cinnamon oat syrup in place of orgeat.

miami rice cocktail
Recipes

Miami Rice

A Japanese-tropical take on the Miami Vice.

Clarified Classics
Recipes

Piña Colada Milk Punch

More fireside than poolside.

Pina Verde Cocktail Recipe
Recipes

Piña Verde

Erick Castro’s herbal, modern-classic play on the Piña Colada.

Recipes

Brancolada

A bracingly cool take on the Piña Colada.

Recipes

White Negroni Piña Colada

The fairer Negroni goes tropical.

congas y coladas cocktail recipe
Recipes

Congas y Coladas

Cumin-laced “Doña’s Mix” gives this rendition a slightly savory edge.

Easy Sherry Cobbler
Recipes

Baldwin’s (Easy) Sherry Colada

A low-proof tropical cocktail starring amontillado sherry.

Sakura Colada cocktail recipe
Recipes

Sakura Colada

An equally refreshing and decadent mix of gin, kirsch, coconut milk and red bean paste.

Curdled Clarified Pina Colada
Recipes

Curdled Colada

The blended classic reimagined as clear, tall and bubbly.

Recipes

City Island Colada

A tribute to the Bronx staple of the Piña Colada made with cognac.

Recipes

Angostura Colada

Most of the rum in this riff is replaced by spicy Angostura bitters.

best pina colada cocktail recipe
Recipes

Fanny Chu’s Piña Colada

The winner of our Piña Colada blind tasting.

Recipes

Billy Ray Valentine

Cinnamon syrup and banana liqueur are like the "salt and pepper" of this Piña Colada.

Miami Vice Cocktail
Recipes

Cane & Table’s Miami Vice

A fresh take on the '80s standby.

Recipes

June n Juice

A Caribbean-influenced riff on the Piña Colada.

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