My week of Caribbean food is ending, and I think the perfect way to finish it is with a rum cocktail. This recipe for a Tropical Painkiller looked and sounded perfect. Garnishing it sounded like an opportunity to get creative, which I couldn’t pass up. Plus the list of ingredients sounded deliciously tropical: coconut milk, pineapple juice, orange juice, and dark rum. Can’t you just imagine sipping it on a tropical beach or poolside? I sure can!
Fill cocktail shaker about half full with ice cubes. Add all ingredients, seal and shake….. Pour into a small cocktail glass filled with ice and serve….. Now kick back, relax, and most importantly, forget that today ever happened!!
The Ingredients
The ingredients for this recipe were pretty basic, but the author was very specific about the type of coconut milk to use. She recommended using boxed rather than canned, and I can understand why. Canned coconut milk separates quickly, leaving the fatty coconut cream floating on top of the coconut water.
I’ve never used unsweetened boxed coconut milk, but I assumed it would not separate, and I was right. Unfortunately, it was very watery and didn’t have much of a coconut taste once mixed into my cocktail. I decided to try Coco Lopez Cream of Coconut, the gold standard of cream of coconut, for my second try. It’s richer, sweetened, and it made a huge difference in taste.
The Process
Mixing up my tropical painkiller was a straightforward process, and the only special equipment needed was a cocktail shaker. I had my drink made and garnished in 4 minutes, and a good portion of that was making the garnish. It was totally optional but really, really pretty.
