Summer is upon us, and I can’t think of a better way to ring it in than with some slushy, tropical, boozy goodness. And this Raspberry Colada Cocktail might be the perfect concoction of all three. Dust off your blenders, grab your tiki glasses, and follow along as I show you how to take your piña coladas to the next level.
Raspberry Colada Cocktail For Sunny Days
If you are anything like me, coconut flavored anything immediately invokes thoughts of sunny days, steel drums, and a simpler, warmer, equatorial life. In a nutshell, anytime the flavor or fragrance of coconut graces my senses, my Pavlovian response is to shift to vacation mode. Even if it’s mid-week and I have a deadline the next day.
And let’s face it – life can get pretty busy and sometimes a little injection of vacay is needed. It was exactly this need that prompted me to make this cocktail.
Years ago while on our honeymoon in Aruba, I had adopted the Bucuti Beach Resort Sand Bar’s raspberry piña colada as my cocktail for the duration of our stay. At the end of each day, I’d watch the sun set over the Caribbean and slowly savor each sip of these delightful drinks. It was my favorite part of the day.
The cocktail making process:
To recreate this drink, I wanted to put a different spin on it. I did not want to blend the raspberries into the drink, but rather keep them as a somewhat separate entity. This made for a pretty gorgeous drink, and allowed me to taste the flavors in a more harmonious way. I’m excited to show you how to do this yourself, creating your own little island oasis, however fleeting it may be.
Begin by pureeing frozen raspberries in a blender, about 1/4 cup, with about 2 oz of water to loosen it up. Pour into a bowl and set the puree aside.
Give your blender a quick rinse, and then add the remaining ingredients: fresh or frozen pinapple, white or dark rum, lime juice, Coco Lopez Cream of Coconut, coconut milk, and ice. Puree the ingredients until they are smooth and slushy, as shown in the picture.
Now, you are ready to paint your glass. Tiki glasses, hurricane glasses, mason jars – really, any type of glass would work well for this. I used a highball glass this time around. Grab a pastry or silicone brush and gently paint two opposing sides of the glass with the puree. This will actually work better if the glass is cold so you might want to pop it in the freezer before you start prepping.
Once the glass is painted, pour the remaining blended ingredients into the glass. Garnish with raspberries, a pineapple wedge, drink umbrella, or my personal favorite, a pineapple leaf. Grab a straw and get ready to enjoy this Raspberry Colada Cocktail in your own home.
Also check out this other summer time drink recipe of ours. Follow James on instagram to see his daily creations and sign up here to receive great recipes by email.
Raspberry Colada Cocktail
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup frozen raspberries
- 2 oz water
- 1/4 cup fresh pineapple .....frozen can be substituted
- 2 oz white rum .....dark rum can also be used
- 1 oz fresh lime juice
- 1 oz Coco Lopez Cream of Coconut
- 2 oz Canned Coconut Milk
- 1.5 cups ice
Instructions
- In a blender, combine the frozen raspberries and water. Puree until smooth. Pour into a separate bowl and set aside.
- Give the blender a rinse to remove any remaining raspberry puree. Add the pineapple, rum, lime juice, Coco Lopez, coconut milk and ice to the blender and puree until smooth and slushy.
- Using a pastry or silicone brush, paint two opposing sides of the serving glass with the raspberry puree.
- Pour the coconut/pineapple puree into the painted glass.
- Garnish with raspberries, pineapple wedge, or pineapple leaf and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
