Name: Pina Colada (Difford's recipe)
Total time: 4 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 60 ml Light gold rum 1-3yo; 10 ml Agricole rhum (unaged); 10 ml Pineapple syrup; 80 ml Pineapple juice; 15 ml Lime juice; 20 ml Cream of coconut; 4 drop Saline solution 4:1; 7.5 ml Whipping cream; 1&frasl;4 barspoon Xanthan gum (E415)

Pina Colada (Difford's recipe)
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Glass:

Serve in a Poco grande

Ingredients:
2 fl oz	Light gold rum (1-3 year old molasses column)
¹⁄₃ fl oz	Cane juice/Agricole blanc (unaged) rhum
¹⁄₃ fl oz	Monin Pineapple Syrup
2 ²⁄₃ fl oz	Pineapple juice
¹⁄₂ fl oz	Lime juice (freshly squeezed)
²⁄₃ fl oz	Cream of coconut (e.g. Coco Lopez, Re'al etc.) optional
4 drop	Saline solution (20g sea salt to 80g water) or merest pinch of s chilled
¹⁄₄ fl oz	Whipping cream chilled
¹⁄₄ barspoon	Xanthan gum (E415) optional

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

Prepare:

Select and pre-chill a POCO GRANDE GLASS.
Prepare garnish of pineapple wedge and Luxardo Maraschino Cherry.

How to make:

DRY BLEND (without ice) first 7 ingredients on a slow setting and add cream and then Xanthan while continuing to blend.
Add 7oz scoop of crushed ice and BLEND some more.
POUR into chilled glass.

Garnish:

Garnish with pineapple wedge on rim skewered with maraschino cherry.
Serve with a straw.

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

Whipping cream - Dairy

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Pina Colada (Difford's recipe) lifestyle image

Cocktail of the day:

27th June 2026 is International Pineapple Day

Review:

A splash of agricole rum adds flavoursome funk, lime adds a citrusy bite, while a splash of fresh cream adds indulgent creaminess to this Piña Colada.

View readers' comments

Variations/similar cocktails:

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

History:

Recipe by yours truly. (Reformulated 8 May 2026.)
See: Piña Colada's story and history.

More cocktails by Simon Difford

Alcohol content:

1.6 standard drinks
12.56% alc./vol. (25.13° proof)
22.1 grams of pure alcohol

More Classic/vintage cocktails
More Creamy (e.g. Dirty banana) cocktails

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

24th June 2025 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!)

Sean Anderson

28th January 2025 at 20:16

Does anyone happen to know if Monin Coconut Syrup is a good substitute for Coco Lopez?

Simon Difford

29th January 2025 at 11:09

Coco Lopex is far more concentrated and sweeter. Hence, you'd need to use more Monin Coconut.

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.

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.

Zach Schwartz

2nd June 2023 at 01:36

What constitutes a “half scoop” of ice?

Simon Sedgley

11th July 2025 at 12:18

Just smash with a wooden mallet three regular sized ice cubes in a Lewis Ice Bag.

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.

STUART WHITEHOUSE

26th May 2023 at 20:14

Replaced the Cachaça with Licor 43... absolutely perfect balance.

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.

Simon Sedgley

11th July 2025 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.

1 reply

Simon Difford

6th May 2023 at 12:30

Sounds delicious. I look forward to trying you recipe.

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.

Scott Noonan

22nd September 2022 at 07:36

I switched out the single cream for Amarula and it adds something to it

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...

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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