coquito (Puerto Rican rum and milk punch)

Coquito, Spanish for little coconut, is a Puerto Rican cocktail made of coconut milk and rum, flavoured with spices like cinnamon and nutmeg.  It’s thick, delicious and has a similar consistency to eggnog.  If you want an eggless eggnog, this is for you!

Here are a few suggestions to make your Coquito shine. First, it’s important to use a good coconut milk. Make sure the label has a lot of coconut fat. This is what gives this drink the perfect texture and body. Give the can a shake, if you hear little liquid, then it has the right amount of coconut fat. Second, use full-fat coconut milk; the kind you would use in a Thai curry. Flavouring the coquito with spice tea adds extra flavour. However, don’t be tempted to add the same amount of spices in their ground form as this will cause the drink to become murky and form a sludge at the bottom of the glass bottle…eww.

Coquito has a heavenly coconut flavour and the spiced tea helps to balance any preconceived sweetness you might have.  Here’s a short video of me making the coquito.

serves 12

to make the spiced tea:

2 cups water
3 cinnamon sticks, break in half
10 cloves
5 star anise
1 teaspoon nutmeg

add to a large blender:

1 can coconut milk
1 can evaporated milk
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 can coconut cream
2 cups spiced rum (or leave it non-alcoholic)

method

For the spiced tea, in a saucepan bring contents to a boil then reduce to simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let steep for 30 minutes then strain.  With the milk ingredients in the blender, add the strained spiced tea. Whiz until well incorporated. Pour into large bottles and refrigerate for at least two hours. Serve as is or add rum to make a cocktail out of it.

the culinary chase’s note:

Coquito made without alcohol should be consumed within a week. Enjoy!