Celebrate National Piña Colada Day today on 10 July
News General news
National Piña Colada Day, celebrated every year on 10 July in the USA, is an ode to one of the world's most iconic and beloved tropical cocktails. This special day not only honours a fascinating mix of rum, pineapple and coconut cream, but also invites you to recreate the carefree atmosphere of tropical climes. There is hardly a better time than July to enjoy the legendary Piña Colada in all its glory, as its flavours conjure up images of relaxed sunny days with a fresh sea breeze and palm trees on a sandy beach.
A cocktail with a mysterious history
The origin of the Piña Colada, whose name translates charmingly as "strained pineapple", is just as fascinating as the cocktail itself. Its history is steeped in anecdotes and legends that make the drink a true mystery. One popular tale takes us back to the 19th century to Roberto Cofresí, a notorious Puerto Rican pirate who is said to have created a precursor to the Piña Colada to lift the spirits of his crew. This early version was supposedly a simple mix of white rum, pineapple and coconut.
Over the decades, further claims emerged about the origins of this exotic cocktail. An article in the New York Times from 1950 describes the Piña Colada as a traditional drink of the West Indies. Nevertheless, the heart of the piña colada undoubtedly lies in Puerto Rico, where two parties lay claim to the invention. On the one hand, Ramón "Monchito" Marrero, a bartender at the Caribe Hilton Hotel in 1954, is celebrated for claiming to have invented the drink to capture the essence of Puerto Rico. On the other hand, the Barrachina restaurant claims that their Spanish bartender, Don Ramon Portas Mingot, invented the Piña Colada in 1963.
An icon is born
Regardless of its controversial roots, the piña colada experienced a meteoric rise to worldwide popularity, especially after Puerto Rico declared it the official drink in 1978 and Rupert Holmes released his famous "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)". This cultural phenomenon made the piña colada synonymous with tropical flair and carefree joie de vivre.
