Wayward Spirits Mango Colada - 

Continuing our coconut-themed kick-off for Summer 2020, Autumn and I broke out the blended this past Memorial Day weekend to whip up some mango piña coladas.

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m usually apprehensive when it comes to piña coladas; they are often too sweet, lacking in rum, and have an undesirable texture (like watered down half-and-half).  However, the recipe below is the real deal, producing a perfectly balanced, fruity, and boozy frozen cocktail.  We loved it so much, we made it two nights in a row (which is a very rare occurrence)

The following feature will provide the history of the piña colada, necessary ingredients, and steps for making it at home.  Give it a try and let us know what you think in the comments!

Piña Colada History:

One of the worlds most famous tropical cocktails, the piña colada, was originally concocted in Puerto Rico in the 1950s.  Though history is clear on where the drink originated, to this day it is still hotly contested who came up with the idea for the drink.  Here are the three leading theories:

1. Ramon “Monchito” Marrero, a bartender at the Caribe Hilton in San Juan, claims to have created the drink in 1954 after being instructed to create a new cocktail that “captured the flavors of the island”.  After months of experimenting, Marrero finally landed on a drink that incorporated flavors of rum, cream of coconut, and pineapple.
2. Ricardo Gracia, another barman at the Caribe Hilton in San Juan during the 1950s, claims that he originally came up with the idea for the cocktail.  While working at the hotel, a strike by local coconut-cutters forced him to serve the then-popular coconut cream and rum cocktail in a hollowed-out pineapple (rather than the traditional coconut shell).  The improvised vessel added the additional flavor of pineapple to the drink, which became an immediate sensation.
3. Restaurant Barrachina opened two miles west of the Caribe Hilton in the late 1950s, and the owner Pepe Barrachina claims his restaurant is the original birthplace of the piña colada.  On a trip to South America, Barrachina claims that he convinced Ramon Portas Mingot, a Spanish mixologist who wrote cocktail books and worked in the top bars of Buenos Aires, to leave Argentina and become head bartender at his Puerto Rican restaurant. 

After its rise in popularity among Puerto Rican vacationers, the drink was swiftly brought back to the U.S. mainland, finding its place on tiki bar menus across the country.  Ultimately, the proliferation of electric blenders and popular tiki bars such as Trader Vic’s and Don The Beachcomber helped to spread the mixed drink around the world during the 1960s and 1970s.
 
 
Recipe/ Instructions:

Glassware:  Hurricane Glass

Ingredients:

• 2 oz fresh pineapple juice
• 1 oz Bacardi White Rum
• 1 oz black blended overproof rum (we use Plantation Overproof Rum O.F.T.D)
• 2 oz coconut rum (we use Malibu coconut rum)
• 1 cup frozen pineapple (cubed)
• 1 cup frozen mango (cubed)
• ½ cup Coconut Cream (homemade is best, but Coco Lopez will suffice)
• 1 cup ice (for blending)

Coconut Cream Recipe (if needed):

1. One 13.5 oz can of Thai Kitchen Unsweetened Coconut Milk (not the “Lite” variety), or you can use Chaokoh Coconut Milk for a thicker and creamier finish
2. Scoop the coconut cream and milk out of the can into a mixing bowl
3. Add ¼ teaspoon of salt
4. Mix well with immersion or hand blender until the coconut cream and milk are well blended.
5. Add 13.5 oz of 2:1 simple syrup (using the empty coconut milk can as a measuring cup)
6. Mix well with an immersion or hand blender until the coconut milk and simple syrup are well blended
7. Refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 3 weeks

Cocktail Steps:
Combine ingredients and ice in a blender, and blend until smooth.  Open pour into hurricane glass, and add 5 drops of Bittermens Elemakule Tiki Bitters (not necessary, but a nice touch).

Garnish:
Garnish with a cocktail umbrella and wedge of pineapple.
 
Wayward Spirits Rating and Twist:
Overall Score – 5

​As I mentioned above, I’m not typically a fan of frozen cocktails as they are often too sweet, lacking in alcohol, and/or have a terrible mouthfeel.  However, this recipe for our Wayward Spirits Mango Colada is heavenly and has made me reconsider this viewpoint.

The addition of overproof rum and mango (and right sizing the amount of coconut cream) adds a layer of complexity to the drink that I felt was lacking in many piña coladas I have tried in the past.

If you are like me, and are on the fence about frozen cocktails, give this version a try, and let me know what you think in the comments!

Tradewinds -

​As the weather continues to warm, Autumn and I have recently been craving fruity, coconutty blended drinks.  Maybe we’re just feeling nostalgic to our trip to Belize (where every drink has an element of coconut).

This weekend, we tried the Tradewinds cocktail – a light, citrusy, and coconut-infused tiki cocktail that nicely balances the tastes of rum, fruit, and rich coconut cream.  It’s an odd mix of heavy and light simultaneously, which makes it a perfect cocktail for warm pseudo-summer nights.

​The following feature will provide the historical context of the drink, necessary ingredients, and steps for making it at home.  We’ve also provided the Wayward Spirits Twist on the cocktail, if you are feeling especially coco-nutty!  

Cocktail History: 

Full Disclosure:  In my research, I did not find a whole lot of information about the Tradewinds Cocktail.

What we do know is that the cocktail hails from the Caribbean in the 1970’s (on the tail-end of the tiki craze) and was originally a party or punch drink made in large quantities.

Luckily, the recipe was preserved and adapted in Jeff “Beachbum” Berry Remixed, which provides instructions on how to make it as a punch.  The following recipe has been adjusted to produce a single serving of the Tradewinds cocktail and adapted to add a hint more coconut.
 
Recipe/ Instructions

Glassware:  Tiki Mug (tall) or Collins/Zombie Glass

Ingredients:

• 1 oz fresh lemon juice
• 3 oz Coconut Cream (homemade is best, but Coco Lopez will suffice)
• 1 oz natural apricot liqueur (we use Rothman & Winter apricot liqueur)
• 1 oz black blended rum (we use Bacardi Black)
• 1 oz lightly aged rum (we use Mount Gay Eclipse)

Coconut Cream Recipe (if needed):

1. One 13.5 oz can of Thai Kitchen Unsweetened Coconut Milk (not the “Lite” variety), or you can use Chaokoh Coconut Milk for a thicker and creamier finish
2. Scoop the coconut cream and milk out of the can into a mixing bowl
3. Add ¼ teaspoon of salt
4. Mix well with immersion or hand blender until the coconut cream and milk are well blended.
5. Add 13.5 oz of 2:1 simple syrup (using the empty coconut milk can as a measuring cup)
6. Mix well with an immersion or hand blender until the coconut milk and simple syrup are well blended
7. Refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 3 weeks

Cocktail Steps:
Combine all ingredients into a cocktail shaker and shake with ice.  Strain into glass over crushed ice.  Alternatively, you can also flash blend this cocktail with ice for a “slushier” feel

Garnish:
Lemon wedge speared with an inside-out cocktail umbrella (obviously blown open by the mighty tradewinds)
 
Wayward Spirits Rating and Twist:
Overall Score – 4
The Tradewinds is truly a delicious summertime cocktail, balancing the flavors of citrus, coconut, and fruit.  The drink starts with a citrusy nose, and leads to a rich coconut and apricot finish, giving the drink a unique savory experience.

Even though we adjusted our recipe to double the amount of coconut cream, we still felt like the drink did not have enough coconut flavor and leaned a bit too heavy into the taste of rum and lemon.

​As a twist, try replacing the lightly aged rum with a light Puerto Rican rum (such as Bacardi Superior White Rum), and scaling the lemon juice back by a quarter ounce.  This may help bring the coconut forward in the drink.

The Mayday! -

​As we kick off the month of May, Wayward Spirits presents our appropriately named “Mayday!” cocktail – a somewhat boozy, complex and herbal adaptation of the Test Pilot cocktail from Donn Beach. 

On the spectrum of Test Pilot to Jet Pilot, this drink falls somewhere between the two: the basic structure of the Test Pilot (dark Jamaican rum, light rum, Falernum, lime juice, and Cointreau), with the added herbs and spices sound in the Jet Pilot (cinnamon and Herbsaint).

​See the full post below for ingredients and steps for making it at home.  Cheers!

Recipe/ Instructions

Glassware:  Brandy Snifter or Double Old Fashioned Glass

Ingredients:

• ¾ oz fresh lime juice
• ½ oz Cinnamon Syrup
• ½ oz Velvet Falernum (we use John D. Taylor’s)
• ¼ oz Cointreau
• 1 ½ oz Dark Jamaican Rum (we use Lost Spirits Jamaica Rum)
• ¾ oz Light Puerto Rican Rum (We use Bacardi)
• 6-8 drops of Herbsaint (Pernod also works, but Herbsaint is preferable)
• Dash of Angostura bitters

 
Cocktail Steps:
Combine all ingredients into a cocktail shaker and shake with ice.  Strain into glass over crushed ice.  Alternatively, you can also flash blend this cocktail with ice for a “slushier” feel

Garnish:
Garnish with a fresh (thoroughly washed) orchid flower and cherry speared with a pick
 
Wayward Spirits Rating:
Overall Score – 4 – This Mayday! strikes a nice balance between the Test Pilot and Jet Pilot cocktails and makes for a strong addition to our summer cocktail book.  With that said, many of flavors in this drink feel predictable, and left me wishing I would have just gone ahead and taken the few extra steps to make a Zombie instead.

​Let us know what you think in the comments below or share your own recommendations for improving the recipe.  Cheers!