Friday cocktail: piña colada

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Can’t stretch to the backdrop for your piña colada? Close your eyes…

The poor old piña colada, the national drink of Puerto Rico, is a bit of a joke cocktail these days, associated with Del Boy and all things naff. But It’s Friday, I’m feeling a bit retro, we’re still (whisper it) having a summer – and I’m not ashamed to say I’m wearing a Hawaiian shirt. Plus, I’ve been sent a coconut-flavoured rum from Jamaica, newly available in the UK, called Koko Kanu. So let’s get tropical!

Unlike Malibu, which is a 21 per cent ‘rum based liqueur’, Koko Kanu is an actual rum that’s been flavoured with coconut, and comes out at 37.5 per cent. When you open the bottle, the aroma of coconut suffuses the air. You immediately start feeling holiday-ish. It’s smooth, sweet, and dangerously sippable.

Piña colada cocktail

SERVES ONE

50ml Koko Kanu (or white rum)

100ml pineapple juice

60ml coconut cream

Pineapple wedge and nutmeg to serve (optional)

Put the Koko Kanu, pineapple juice, coconut cream and a handful of ice in a food processor or blender and whizz on high until smooth. Pour into a tall glass (the hurricane glass is the classic choice). Skip the umbrella but if you’ve got a pineapple to hand, it would be affectedly unshowy not to add a wedge to garnish, and a grating of nutmeg finishes things off a treat.