Pina Colada (Difford's recipe)

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (137 ratings)
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    Pina Colada (Difford's recipe)

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Pina Colada (Difford's recipe) image

Serve in a Poco grande

Ingredients:
2 oz Light white rum (charcoal-filtered 1-4 years old)
1⁄2 oz Cachaça
3 1⁄2 oz Pineapple juice
3⁄4 oz Cream of coconut (e.g. Coco Lopez, Re'al etc.)
1⁄2 oz Lime juice (freshly squeezed)
1⁄4 oz Single cream/half-and-half
2 drop Saline solution 4:1 (20g sea salt to 80g water)
1⁄4 barspoon Xanthan gum (E415)
× 1 1 serving
Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

  1. Select and pre-chill a Poco grande glass.
  2. Prepare garnish of parasol, pineapple wedge and Luxardo Maraschino Cherry.
  3. DRY BLEND (without ice) first 7 ingredients (all but Xanthan gum) on a slow setting and then gradually add Xanthan while continuing to blend.
  4. Add 7oz scoop of crushed ice and BLEND some more.
  5. POUR into chilled glass.
  6. Garnish with pineapple wedge and maraschino cherry skewered with parasol.
  7. Serve with a straw.

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

  • Single cream/half-and-half - Dairy

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol
Medium
Boozy
Strength 5/10
Sweet
Medium
Dry/sour
Sweet to sour 5/10
More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile
Cocktail of the day:

27th June 2025 is International Pineapple Day

Review:

A splash of cachaça adds some Latin funk, lime adds a citrusy bite while a splash of fresh cream makes this Piña Colada creamy white.

View readers' comments

Variant:

Piña Colada (Puerto Rican style)
Piña Colada (Cuban style)
Champagne Piña Colada
Temperance Piña Colada

History:

Piña Colada history

More cocktails by Simon Difford

Alcohol content:

  • 1.9 standard drinks
  • 12.12% alc./vol. (12.12° proof)
  • 27.3 grams of pure alcohol

Difford’s Guide remains free-to-use thanks to the support of the brands in green above. Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

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Showing 10 of 16 comments for Pina Colada (Difford's recipe).
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Juniper Lately’s Avatar Juniper Lately
24th June at 21:21
The only reason I wish I hadn’t tried this recipe is that it’s more complicated than the recipe I was using… but it’s SO GOOD. Tolerates substitutions well. However, do not under any circumstances skip the umbrella! (It’s 32°C here in Canada today - feels like 41° with the humidity🥵 This PC is helping immensely!)
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Sean Anderson’s Avatar Sean Anderson
28th January at 20:16
Does anyone happen to know if Monin Coconut Syrup is a good substitute for Coco Lopez?
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Simon Difford’s Avatar Simon Difford
29th January at 11:09
Coco Lopex is far more concentrated and sweeter. Hence, you'd need to use more Monin Coconut.
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Matt’s Avatar Matt
7th October 2024 at 01:05
Pineapple-forward compared to typical pina colada recipe, which are much more heavy on the coconut - I prefer this variant. The coconut is subtle, the half-n-half adds a foamy head but without becoming unctuous. Sweet pineapple juice is the dominant note, the rum and cachaca don't stand out (I wonder if using the cachaca helps the booze hide behind the pineapple.) Excellent for pineapple fans.
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John Hinojos’ Avatar John Hinojos
13th June 2023 at 01:23
Have stayed away from Pina Coladas as I always find them overly sweet. This was great. A little on the sweet side, but with wonderful balance between the pineapple and coconut. Single cream added a nice frothy head without disturbing the balance of the cocktail.
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Zach Schwartz’s Avatar Zach Schwartz
2nd June 2023 at 01:36
What constitutes a “half scoop” of ice?
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Simon Sedgley’s Avatar Simon Sedgley
11th July at 12:18
Just smash with a wooden mallet three regular sized ice cubes in a Lewis Ice Bag.
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Simon Difford’s Avatar Simon Difford
2nd June 2023 at 06:52
Please click "measures and measuring" under the recipe above. The page this link takes you to explains measures, including the size of the scoop I use for crushed ice.
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STUART WHITEHOUSE’s Avatar STUART WHITEHOUSE
26th May 2023 at 20:14
Replaced the Cachaça with Licor 43... absolutely perfect balance.
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Sarah Kennedy’s Avatar Sarah Kennedy
6th May 2023 at 10:13
Made this but swapped in Plantation Pineapple Rum instead of the light rum and Difford’s Falernum instead of the cachaça. This is my new favourite and friends that have tried it also enjoyed.
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Simon Sedgley’s Avatar Simon Sedgley
11th July at 12:47
Great tip...thanks. But why swap out the Cachaca? In our case, simply adding 10ml Falernum made it the more the merrier. Cheers.
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1 reply
Simon Difford’s Avatar Simon Difford
6th May 2023 at 12:30
Sounds delicious. I look forward to trying you recipe.
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Ben R’s Avatar Ben R
4th May 2023 at 18:35
You're hardly going to get complaints if you serve someone a Pina Colada, but this recipe strikes the perfect balance. Not cloying, not overwhelmed by coconut or pineapple, not too assertive with spices or lime. My friends and family reacted with "always make us this recipe. Don't change it."

With that said, this recipe also acts as a perfect platform for experimentation. Add a glance of Banane de Bresil. Add a bit of orgeat. Add some of AElred's Melon Apertif.
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Scott Noonan’s Avatar Scott Noonan
22nd September 2022 at 07:36
I switched out the single cream for Amarula and it adds something to it
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Jesse M’s Avatar Jesse M
1st August 2022 at 05:52
I’m unable to get cachaca so have been trying to scale this without that ingredient/volume, and it just won’t turn out...today was maybe the best balance except for this serious dilution thing. Is a half scoop of crushed ice 6oz like in other recipes here? I’m wondering if it’s less because using the relatively lower amount from that number created a very watery drink. Unless I wasn’t supposed to blend until nearly uniform...
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Christophe CARPENTIER’s Avatar Christophe CARPENTIER
6th November 2022 at 15:31
Were the juice and coconut milk cold?
If not, it takes a lot of ice to cool it down.

That's what just happened when I made one - alcoohol-free - for my kids!
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