The history of the Piña Colada dates back to August 15, 1954, when bartender Ramón “Monchito” Marrero at the Caribe Hilton’s Beachcomber Bar in San Juan, Puerto Rico, created the first version of the classic cocktail.
Tasked by hotel management to craft a signature cocktail that would impress their discerning guests, Monchito dedicated three months to perfecting his recipe through extensive blending, shaking, and experimentation.
His perseverance resulted in the iconic Piña Colada, meaning “strained pineapple” in Spanish, a tropical blend of rum, coconut cream, and pineapple that has since become a beloved symbol of Caribbean paradise.
Timeline History of the Piña Colada
The Piña Colada was first referenced in a 1922 Travel magazine article, though the original version lacked coconut cream, consisting instead of pineapple juice, lime, sugar, and Bacardi rum.
In 1924, National Geographic magazine, reporting from Puerto Rico, mentioned a pineapple juice and crushed ice beverage, known locally as piña fría (cold pineapple).
In 1950, The New York Times reported that “Drinks in the West Indies range from Martinique’s famous rum punch to Cuba’s pina colada (rum, pineapple and coconut milk).
Furter Fame
The pineapple based cocktail enjoys widespread popularity across Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries and has gained international acclaim, becoming a favorite worldwide. It famously features as Del Boy’s preferred drink in the cult British comedy series “Only Fools and Horses” and was immortalized in the 1979 chart-topping hit “Escape (The Piña Colada Song)” by American musician Rupert Holmes, further cementing its status as a cultural icon.
There are many varieties of Piña Colada , but the original 1954 recipe goes like this:
Original Piña Colada Recipe
Blend or shake:
- 6 ounces of pineapple juice,
- 3 ounces of coconut cream,
- 1½ ounces of white rum
- crushed ice
Serve in chilled glasses, garnished with pineapple wedge and/or a maraschino cherry.
The history of the Piña Colada is as rich as the tropical cocktail itself and deserves to be savoured!