7 Caribbean Cocktails That Are Easy to Make at Home
We'll be the first to admit: Drinking a piña colada on your balcony will never be the same as sitting outside a bar in old San Juan, feeling the ocean breeze blow as you sip your cocktail mere blocks from the beach. But a strong Caribbean cocktail will sure get you closer to that canceled vacation than a whiskey sour will.
With temperatures starting to rise and warmer days ahead, mentally escaping to the Caribbean doesn't require the imagination it might have in December. Maybe you hit play on a little Cuban salsa, or turn up that Jamaican dancehall playlist—maybe you bring out those colorful tumblers you bought in Guadeloupe two years back, or decorate your table with woven coasters from Cartagena. Suddenly an ice cold rum punch or painkiler is more than just a strong drink, it's a virtual escape.
For days when you want to transport yourself to the Caribbean without leaving home, these easy-to-make drinks will help get you there. Read on for seven Caribbean cocktails every home bartender can mix, with tips from experts across the islands.
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Rothphoto_OnlineA piña colada from Puerto Rico
Few cocktails are as representative of the Caribbean—or vacation in general—as the piña colada. The Puerto Rican cocktail, which was invented at the Caribe Hilton hotel in San Juan in 1954, has become a staple for locals and visitors alike. “Almost every bar in Puerto Rico and probably most homes have the ingredients for it,” says Roberto Berdecia, co-founder of San Juan's ever-popular La Factoría bar. “This drink give us a lot of honor in the bar world, and it’s part of our culture as Puerto Ricans.”
For his take on the three-ingredient drink (made with rum, pineapple juice, and coconut cream, traditionally shaken rather than blended), Berdecia uses classic Puerto Rican ingredients: two ounces of Don Q Gold rum, two ounces of fresh-pressed pineapple juice, and 1.5 ounces of real coconut cream, like Coco Lopez. After shaking with ice for 20 seconds, he likes to finish his coladas with a dash each of Angostura bitters and lime juice, before topping with a dehydrated pineapple and paper umbrella. (Leave out the rum for the kids or anyone who doesn't drink—the result is just as good.)
Birte Mußmann / EyeEmTi'punch from Martinique
Popular throughout the French Caribbean, ti'punch (short for “petite” punch) is the national cocktail of Martinique, where the mixture of rum, sugar, and lime can arrive at various points throughout the day—before meals, after meals, or even for mid-day visits with friends. “It's as important [to Martinique] as tea is in the U.K, for example,” says Aurélie Marie, a bartender at the island's Cloud Bar and the most recent winner of the annual Ti'Punch Cup competition. “Martinique has been known for sugarcane and rum production for centuries, and there’s so much history behind the ti’punch.”
The drink is quite simple, and that's the beauty in it—every drinker can have theirs mixed sweeter, strong, or as sour as they'd like. Marie makes her ti'punch by cutting a slice of lime ("mostly peel and a little bit of pulp") that is pressed into a short glass. Add a teaspoon of brown sugar (which she believes allows the flavors to diffuse better than the more commonly used sugarcane syrup), then about two ounces of white rhum agricole, stirred with ice.
Oksana Bratanova / Alamy Stock PhotoDark 'n Stormy from Bermuda
The two-ingredient Dark ‘n Stormy is “really simple to make and delicious to drink,” says Stefan Gitschner, the owner of Twisted Spoon Cocktail Co. in Bermuda. But it’s also an important bastion of Bermudian history and culture: “The Ginger Beer came from the Royal British Navy, and the Black Seal Rum from the Goslings Brothers, who landed here in 1806 by pure luck. When a Bermudian drinks a ‘DnS’ off island, it takes us right back."
To make your own Dark ‘n Stormy (which can only be made with Goslings rum, Gitschner says, and no other substitute—the family has even trademarked the cocktail to “protect the drink’s integrity”), fill a glass with tons of ice, pour in the ginger beer leaving room for the rum, then “float the rum” by pouring it slowly on top. Add a lime, and enjoy.
Jordan LyeA mojito from Cuba
This one requires a little more elbow grease than your average mixed drink—but anyone who's spent a weekend in Havana, the birthplace of the mojito, knows the end result is well worth it.
The drink includes just a few ingredients. And who better to turn to for a recipe than Cuban-born singer and restauranteur Gloria Estefan, who has famously shared the way she makes the mojitos in her Miami bars, restaurants, and hotels. Per Estefan, start by combining two teaspoons of sugar, 10 fresh mint leaves, and the juice of a quarter of a lime in a shaker. Muddle the mint, then pour in two ounces of Bacardí Superior rum and shake with ice. Pour in a tall glass, fill to the top with club soda, before garnishing with a sprig of mint and a straw.
connerscott1A painkiller from the British Virgin Islands
Like the piña colada, the fruity-yet-potent painkiller is best enjoyed near the water—but even if your toes aren't actually in the sand as you throw one back, the drink itself will transport you. “It's one of those cocktails that people fall in love with at one sip,” says Merus Joseph, the manager of the Soggy Dollar in the British Virgin Islands, the bar credited with inventing the drink in the 1970s. “It is a true island drink with true island ingredients.”
To make a painkiller at home, you'll need two ounces of Pusser's dark rum, four ounces of pineapple juice, and an ounce each of coconut cream and orange juice. Mix it all in a cocktail shaker, before pouring over ice and topping with nutmeg to serve.
AlamyRum punch from Barbados
Many Caribbean islands have their take on rum punch—no surprise given rum's prevalence throughout the islands, and its ability to mix well with nearly any juice. But if you're looking for a recipe to follow, then take a little inspiration from Barbados, the birthplace of rum via the world's oldest rum distillery, Mount Gay.
“You haven’t had a rum punch until you’ve had a Bajan rum punch,” says Phillip "Casanova" Antoine, a well-known mixologist on the island. (Not only has he won a slew of local bartending awards, but he was famously Drake's personal bartender when the rapper visited the island last year.) Antoine says the four-ingredient drink is simple, too: “You just need two ounces of rum, one ounce of lime juice, ¾ ounce of simple syrup, and then three dashes of Angostura bitters." Combine the first three ingredients in a cocktail shaker, add ice, and shake vigorously before topping with bitters and an optional fresh slice of lime and dash of nutmeg on top.
Brent Hofacker / Alamy Stock PhotoCuba Libre from Cuba
Sometimes, you can't overthink it. The Cuba Libre is, quite simply, a rum and coke, with a little twist, making it the easiest of these Caribbean cocktails to recreate yourself. The name is an ode to the drink's origin in the early 1900s after the country won independence in the Spanish-American war. Today, it's one of the most popular drinks throughout the world–likely because it's affordable and easy-as-can-be to make.
All you need? Two ounces of light rum (ideally something Cuban, like Bacardí), half a lime, and a bottle of Coke (go for a glass bottle to really pay homage to the drink as it was first made). Squeeze the lime juice into a highball glass, then just add ice, pour in your rum, and fill the rest of the cup with soda and stir. Then let yourself daydream that you're sitting streetside in Havana from the first sip.
