An Island Standard
Have you ever had chicken adobo cooked by someone from the Philippines? It’s delicious, and it’s their national dish. But like most national dishes, every family has their own recipe.
Same story with Coquito, the “national holiday drink” of Puerto Rico. Coquito translates as “little coconut” and is basically an Egg Nog-like concoction, spiked with rum and spices. When December comes, makers of Coquito generally make large batches, decant these into different size booze bottles (saved up throughout the year) and give these to friends, neighbors and family at Christmas time. Cook recipes, no-cook recipes, recipes with egg, recipes without egg, spice mixtures, even the inclusion of whole milk or even vanilla ice cream are highly debated.
Even my aunt and my late step-grandmother (who are/were both known throughout their respective neighborhoods for making the best Coquito around) have different recipes. My aunt plays for the rare vanilla ice cream team, no eggs, while my grandmother insisted that ice cream had no place near the drink, and made versions both with eggs (cook) and without eggs (no-cook)... although she was adamant that the egg version was truly Ponche de Coco (coconut punch) and not Coquito because Coquito doesn’t have eggs.
Like chicken adobo, Coquito may have its variations, but as long as you don’t screw it up, most will be delicious. Part of the fun is debating amongst fellow imbibers about who makes the best version, and whether nutmeg (or choose any ingredient) should be part of the recipe or not.
My preferred version is also one of the easiest to make, because it’s like making pound cake… you know, a pound of flour, a pound of butter, a pound of eggs, a pound of sugar. This recipe uses a can of this and a can of that, which helps keep the shopping list simple. It also means that the recipe is easily scaled up. Just buy more cans!
Before we get to the recipe, I’ve got a few important notes:
Many people are obsessed with white (clear) rum, because so many people want that virginal white beverage. Hooey. This one has to look and taste like something. Think egg nog. So let’s go with a gold rum, but not a very dark island rum or a “black” rum.
Even better, let’s go with a spiced rum, BUT… note that many/most national brands of spiced rum check in at only 70° proof (35% alcohol), instead of the normal 80° or 86° proof for rum. We use Costco’s Kirkland Spiced Rum. You can debate whether you like it as a sippin’ rum, but here it makes the perfect ingredient. It is 92° proof (46% alcohol), so it’s also potent without watering down your Coquito. It comes in a big 1.75L size, so you can make quite a few batches of Coquito from one bottle. (Five+ batches, if you don’t spill/drink any!)
When you make your very first batch, start with less rum (especially if using the 92° proof stuff) and add to taste. Measure it all, remember how much you used, and that will be your consistent recipe moving forward.
Don’t overdo the cinnamon and nutmeg. A little spice goes a long way, and you do want it to be fragrant, yet balanced.
At a dinner or party, it’s totally normal to have a bottle of rum and a cinnamon shaker alongside for guests to add according to their tastes.
Keep in mind that, like many, we hold Coco López Cream of Coconut in the same regard as Heinz Ketchup… namely, that if the supermarket is out of that brand, it’s time to go to another store!
Coquito
(Makes enough to fill about two standard 750 ml booze bottles)
You’ll need a large glass bowl, a large-enough whisk, a large-enough funnel and:
1 can of Evaporated Milk (12 oz)
1 can of Sweetened Condensed Milk (14 oz)
1 can of Cream of Coconut, Coco López or similar (15 oz)
1 1/2 cups (12oz) of Spiced Rum (or Gold Rum if you prefer)
1 teaspoon of good quality Vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon of powdered Cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon of Nutmeg (optional)
Cinnamon sticks for garnishInstructions:
- Mix the ingredients into the glass bowl, and whisk together.
- Funnel into empty booze bottles, which may be a two-person operation.
- Throw a cinnamon stick into each bottle. (Don’t overdo it. As it ages, the cinnamon may become more pronounced.)
- REFRIGERATE and serve cold in a tall shot glass or other small glass. (Check the photo above.)
- If it’s your party, you can serve your Coquito alongside a bottle of rum and a cinnamon shaker for those who want to kick theirs up.
- NOTE: Shake bottle well before serving. It’s normal for the cinnamon and some of the coconut fats to settle. Shake it up!
More Notes:
Ideally, let the Coquito sit in the fridge for a couple of days or more, so that the flavors come together, but yeah, you can drink it in a couple of hours once it’s cold. Since it doesn’t have eggs, it should last a few months, but you or the people you gift it to will drink it well before then!
If you want to get really fancy, get creative! Print some custom labels on your computer printer and tie some festive ribbon and stuff around the top of your bottles.
You can buy cheap bottles with stoppers in IKEA, but at 34oz/1 liter, these are larger than the standard 3/4 liter booze bottle, although they also have smaller 17 oz. ones here and packs of 5 oz. ones here. The last two sizes make for great neighbor gifts.
When using the 92° proof Kirkland Spiced Rum, I use 10 ounces.
Enjoy! You’ll love it!
(This Thursday@5 essay was intentionally released at 9am instead of 5pm. It’s a busy season, and this way you’ll have more time to buy ingredients!)
Just made this season's first batch! (We were gifted a couple of bottles, so we got off to a slow start!) The texture and flavors were great, can't wait until it chills and the flavors come together. We used 10 oz. of Kirkland Spiced Rum this time.