My first drink when I arrived in Havana was a mojito, but my favorite and most frequent drink while in Cuba was a pina colada. In fact, the staff at 115 San Lazaro made me at least 2 every day and the last one I had was just as yummy as the first one.
When we first arrived in Havana over Memorial Day weekend, I craved a mojito. Between the heat, humidity, and the Hemingway nostalgia, nothing beats a minty mojito, which I had, sitting on the rooftop of a hotel in Old Town, overlooking the city. It was perfect.
Once at our Air BnB, San Lazaro 115, Alain, the daytime manager offered to make us cocktails, and since he was out of limes, I settled for a pina colada. However, I “settled” for nothing. It was the best pina colada I have ever had. It was creamy and cold with only a hint of pinapple and coconut and sprinkled with cinnamon. Honestly, it reminded me of egg nog, but without the over powering eggy-vanilla flavor. No singular flavor over powered the others, and it quickly became my drink of choice whenever we were at the Air BnB.
On our last night in Havana, I asked Alain if I could watch and learn how to make it, and he graciously agreed.
Ingredients
- 16 oz. glass of ice cubes
- 1 c. chunks of FRESH pineapple (canned pineapple will taste slightly different)
- 1 oz. coconut liquor (coconut liquor)
- 2 oz. white rum
- 3 TBSP powdered milk (or powdered coffee creamer…it works great!)
- Cinnamon for dusting
Instructions
- In a blender, combine all ingredients except cinnamon and blend until completely smooth. Pour into a glass and sprinkle with ground cinnamon.
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