Cachaça Piña Colada
Blend ∙ 4 min ∙ 10.7% ABV ∙
A blended tropical cocktail that splits the base between white rum and cachaça, blended with pineapple juice, cream of coconut, and lime into a frothy Piña Colada variation. Thick and frosty from the blender, it pours silky and cool with a bright tart edge cutting through the rich, lightly funky finish.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Add all ingredients and crushed ice to the blender: White rum 30 mlCachaça 30 mlPineapple juice 90 mlCream of coconut 20 mlLime juice 15 mlSugar syrup 15 ml
- Blend until smooth and frothy
- Pour into chilled poco grande glass
- Garnish with a pineapple wedge and a maraschino cherry
Tips
- Pre-chill the glass before blending so the frozen drink doesn't start melting the moment it's poured.
- Shake or stir the cream of coconut can before measuring, since it separates and settles at the bottom.
- Blend just until smooth and frothy — over-blending melts the crushed ice and thins the texture.
History
The Cachaça Piña Colada is a modern riff on the classic Piña Colada that swaps in Brazilian cachaça, often alongside or instead of rum, giving the drink a grassier, more vegetal edge — a home-bartending and recipe-site variation rather than a bar-attributed invention. It's built on the Piña Colada, a drink credited to Puerto Rico though its exact origin remains disputed among several claimants, most commonly bartender Ramón "Monchito" Marrero at the Caribe Hilton's Beachcomber Bar in San Juan, in a year sources give variously as 1952 or 1954.
FAQ
Can you make a Piña Colada with cachaça?
Yes — this version splits the base between white rum and cachaça rather than using rum alone, giving the classic a distinctly Brazilian twist.
What are the ingredients in this cachaça Piña Colada?
White rum, cachaça, pineapple juice, cream of coconut, lime juice, and sugar syrup, blended with crushed ice until smooth and frothy. It's poured into a chilled glass and garnished with a pineapple wedge and a maraschino cherry.
Is cachaça basically rum?
Not quite, though the two are closely related. Both are sugarcane spirits, but rum is typically distilled from molasses while cachaça is distilled from fresh-pressed sugarcane juice, giving it a grassier, more vegetal character that comes through clearly alongside the white rum in this recipe.
How strong is this cachaça Piña Colada?
About 10.7% ABV, which is lighter than most spirit-forward cocktails because the pineapple juice, cream of coconut, and blended ice add substantial volume and dilution.
