Puerto Rican Coquito for the Holidays

December 3, 2020  •  Beverages,

I was first introduced to coquito back in January (which seems like a lifetime ago) when I visited my boyfriend’s family in Puerto Rico. They had a huge party so that David’s many, many aunts, uncles, and cousins could all see him and meet me. The party started at 11 in the morning, and throughout the day I watched the older relatives sipping on small shots of creamy boozy beverages, made with pitorro, basically moonshine rum. While it might be an oversimplification, I consider coquito to be the Puerto Rican sister to eggnog.Coquito isn’t hard to make – you need only a few ingredients and a decent blender. Bottle it any way you like and store in the refrigerator until you’re ready to gift it (or drink it) for the holidays. (PS Traditional recipes include nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves, but since my boyfriend doesn’t like it that way, I left them out and will include a whole nutmeg and stick of cinnamon with each bottle I share with family and friends.)

Puerto Rican Coquito for the Holidays
 
Prep time
Total time
 
Author:
Recipe type: Beverage
Serves: 14 pints
Ingredients
  • 2 15-ounce cans unsweetened coconut milk
  • 2 15-ounce cans cream of coconut (Coco Lopez is traditionally used)
  • 30 ounces of white rum (see Note), divided
  • 1 12-ounce can evaporated milk
  • 1 12-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, optional
  • 2 teaspoons freshly ground nutmeg, optional
  • 1 teaspoon ground cloves, optional
Instructions
  1. Combine the coconut milk with 1 of the cans of Coco Lopez and half of the rum in a blender and blend on low until smooth. Pour into a large bowl or pitcher.
  2. Combine the remaining can of Coco Lopez with the remaining rum, the evaporated milk, and the condensed milk in a blender and blend on low until smooth. Pour into the other batch and mix well before bottling in sterile jars.
Notes
Use the empty Coco Lopez can to easily measure the rum.

 

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