Arsenic Lace

National Pina Colada Day

Lemongrass Pina Colada with Bai

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If you’ve been following my blog over the past year, you know my favorite cocktail is a piña colada. That’s why I’m excited to announce that I’ve teamed up with Bai for National Piña Colada Day to bring you something delicious with their Molokai Coconut flavor. It turns out Bai is just as crazy about coconut as me!

What’s the great part about using their Cocofusion flavors in your drinks? They are super low in calories and sugar (only 5 calories & 1 gram of sugar per serving) and are filled with antioxidant goodness. We’re basically using this to add coconut flavor but taking out the guilt, which is A-OK with me! Any objections? I’ve paired this wonderful fruit juice with homemade lemongrass syrup, pineapple, and rum to bring you a fun and interesting variation on the much loved classic, the piña colada.


Lemongrass Pina Colada

1 1/2 oz. white rum

1 1/2 oz. Bai Molokai Coconut (any of their other cocofusions will work too)

3/4 oz. pineapple juice

3/4 oz. lemongrass syrup

For the lemongrass syrup, first remove the leaves on your lemongrass until you’re left with the white core (about 5 stalks). Chop it up and add it to a pot with 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water.

Bring to a slight bubble and then turn the heat down and let it simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Let cool on stove for a few hours and then strain out lemongrass.

Now to make the cocktail! Add all your ingredients to your blender pitcher, add ice, and blend on smoothie setting. It’s that easy! Pour into your serving vessel and garnish with a pineapple wedge, pineapple leaves, and a piece of cooked lemongrass.

I love how all the flavors compliment each other perfectly. The replacement of coconut cream for the Bai Molokai Coconut, makes the drink less creamy but doesn’t sacrifice flavor. The lemongrass is sweet and fragrant and blends together with the coconut to make a very crisp and refreshing drink. We couldn’t celebrate National Piña Colada Day without a giveaway, so head over to my Instagram for a chance to win 2 cases of Bai. All you have to do in order to be entered to win is make sure you’re following me @arseniclace, @drinkbai, and tag a friend in the comments you want to share a piña colada with! I will reach out to the winner on Instagram on 7/15. Cheers, good luck and thank you for reading this sponsored post here on Arsenic Lace.

Summer Sandia Cocktail

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All photos courtesy of Mady Popelka for Women & Whiskies. Glassware by Easy Tiger Co.

All photos courtesy of Mady Popelka for Women & Whiskies. Glassware by Easy Tiger Co.

This Sunday is National Pina Colada Day, and what better way to celebrate with some Rum, pineapple juice, and coconut cream.

It has been the official drink of Puerto Rico since 1978 but its origins are much older. The modern Pina Colada depends on coconut cream being used as an ingredient, which doesnt appear until 1948 when Don Ramon Lopez Irizarry creates the well-known Coco Lopez product. This is where, like most cocktails, the trail gets a little bit muddy. The Pina Colada has had its share of claimants and accounts of similar drinks that date back to the 17th century.

The first actual written instance of Pina Colada attached to a cocktail dates back to 1922 in Travel Magazine. It descibes a drink with fresh pineapple juice, lime, sugar, ice, and Bacardi Rum. This is what we now like to call a Pineapple Daiquiri, which I enjoy on my shifts at Dutch Kills quite frequently.

A few bartenders have quarreled over the rights to the drink:

  • The Caribe Hilton in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where long-serving bartender, Ramón “Monchito” Marrero Perez claims to have created the drink on August 16, 1954, utilizing the recently released Coco López cream of coconut.
  • Ricardo García, another bartender at the Caribe, who claims to have come up with the recipe as a work-around during the coconut cutters’ union strike of 1954. It sucks when a co-worker trys to take credit for your drink, doesnt it?
  • Ramón Portas Mingot’s 1963 story stating that he came up with the drink while working at the Barrachina Restaurant in Old San Juan.

I want to thank all of them, as we may never know, just like the Mai Tai battle of Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic (I vote for Don). Let’s celebrate the history of this drink in all of its frosty, fruity, deliciousness glory with a variation of our own. I’m celebraing with my cocktail the Summer Sandia which I created for Women & Whiskies. I know what you’re thinking, a whiskey colada? I’m here to change your mind with this American Whiskey spin on the classic Pina Colada.

All photos courtesy of Mady Popelka for Women & Whiskies. Glassware by Easy Tiger Co.

All photos courtesy of Mady Popelka for Women & Whiskies. Glassware by Easy Tiger Co.

Summer Sandia

1 ½ oz. Wild Turkey 101 Bourbon
½ oz. Absinthe
1 ½ oz. Pineapple Juice
1 ½ oz. Coconut Cream (equal parts coconut cream and coconut milk)
7 watermelon cubes
Fresh Mint
Crushed Ice

Add pineapple juice to your mixing tin with 5 watermelon cubes and a handful of mint leaves, and muddle. Add the rest of your ingredients, dry shake, and strain into your serving vessel. Add crushed ice and garnish with watermelon and a mint sprig.

All photos courtesy of Mady Popelka for Women & Whiskies. Glassware by Easy Tiger Co.

All photos courtesy of Mady Popelka for Women & Whiskies. Glassware by Easy Tiger Co.