Love eggnog? Then you must try Coquito, the popular drink served in Puerto Rico for Christmas and the winter holidays
Different places, different traditions. While over here in Germany the most favoured drink during the festive season is mulled wine, across the U.S eggnog is topping the list. Head down south to Puerto Rico and the most popular holiday drink will change from eggnog to coquito.
Literally translated into ‘little coconut’ this creamy punch might look very much like eggnog. Yet it could not be more different.
Coquito is made with sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and sweetened cream of coconut. The latter adds a wonderful tropical twist. In addition, there are two types of rum, white rum and spiced dark rum, and spices.
It is one of the easiest drinks to make, as all you need to do is mixing the ingredients, then chill the drink.
That said, very much like with all popular traditional recipes, there is no one coquito recipe. Instead, almost every family seems to have its own classic way to make this drink. And one particular ingredient is dividing the whole country. Some recipes call for egg yolks to be added, others don’t. Which is a big deal for Puerto Ricans. Indeed, the discussion if the ‘authentic’ coquito is made with egg yolks or without egg yolks is quite heated. Looking back to historic coquito recipes, it seems the early version were indeed made with egg yolks.
However, the more recent versions seem to lean on the ‘no egg’ side of things. Thus, for this recipe, I have opted to eliminate the egg yolks.
Coquito will keep several weeks in the fridge, so this is a great drink to make ahead. So, it will be ready for your next holiday gathering without you having to disappear into the kitchen to prepare the whole thing afresh.
You do not have to bother taking it out of the fridge before serving either, since the drink is served chilled. If you like, you can even serve it over ice.
How to make Coquito, the Puerto Rican Christmas drink
So below is my favourite recipe making coquito.
Makes 8 servings
175 ml evaporated milk
200 ml sweetened condensed milk
200 ml sweetened cream of coconut
240 ml white rum
120 ml spiced dark rum
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
cinnamon sticks for garnishing
In a blender, add both milks, cream of coconut, both rums, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Blend until well combined, for about 2 minutes.
Pour the mixture in a lidded glass bottle or a large container with lid. Refrigerate for at least two hours until well chilled.
To serve, pour into glasses and garnish with a cinnamon stick and sprinkle with a bit more cinnamon. If desired, you can serve over ice.
Do you have a favourite Christmas drink? Let me know in the comments below.
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