Pina Colada Quotes

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The Washington Post (1877-1954). Washington, D.C.: Jun 6, 1947. p. C7 (1 page)

"Ruby Foo's "pina colada" is a tall drink that can be enjoyed alike by wets and white ribboners. You can order it with or without the "oomph," find it deliciously cooling either way."


From John Mariani's ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN FOOD & DRINK:

"_pina colada._ A cocktail made from light rum, coconut cream and pineapple juice. It is especially popular during warm weather with boating enthusiasts and at southern resort areas. The term was first printed in 1923.

The pina colada (which in Spanish means "strained pineapple") originated at the Caribe Hilton Hotel and Casino in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Back in 1952 bartender Ramon Monchito Marrero Perez was introduced to a new product called Coco Lopez cream of coconut (containing coconut, sugar, water, polysorbate 60, sorbitan monostearate, salt, propylene glycol alginate, mono- and diglycerides, citric acid, guar gum, and locaust-bean gum). On August 15, 1954, after three months of trying out various liquors with the product, Marrero mixed pineapple juice and light rum with it, blended the mixture with crushed ice, and came up with a sweet, creamy drink that did not really catch on until 1954, when it was served to a group of government officials at a convention there.

Another Puerto Rican claimed to have invented the pina colada in 1963 at the bar called La Barrachina in San Juan's Old City, where there still hangs a plaque that announces "The House Where in 1963 THE PINA COLADA Was Created by Don Ramon Portas Mingot." But Mr. Marrero's 1952 claim seems clearly more authoritative, and, therefore, here is the original recipe. (...)"


Barry Popik Comments

I'll probably go to the Library of Congress on Thursday, where I'll check out QUE PASA IN PUERTO RICO. This official tourist guide was published in the 1950s, but the LOC doesn't list the dates of its holdings. Don't expect many holdings.

"Pina colada" meaning "strained pineapple" may be from the 1920s, but the drink doesn't show up in drink books until about 1970:

TRADER VIC'S BOOK OF FOOD AND DRINK (1946) doesn't have it.

CHICO PRESENTS RONRICO'S OFFICIAL MIXTRO'S GUIDE is not dated. Ronrico is a Puerto Rican rum. "1942 Cocktail" is on page 52. "49" is written on the cover. 1949 seems a good date, or maybe the 1950s. "Pina Colada" is NOT here. Pg. 82 has "Pina Rico," which contains the white of one egg, 1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice, 1/2 oz. Passion Fruit, 1 1/2 oz. Ronrico Red Label, and ice, served in a fresh pineapple with the center taken out.

ESQUIRE'S HANDBOOK FOR HOSTS (1949) doesn't have it.

Ted Saucier's BOTTOMS UP (1951) doesn't have it.

The ESQUIRE DRINK BOOK (1956) doesn't have it.

THE RUM COOKBOOK (1973), pg. 24: "Pina Colada, pronounced _peen_-ya koe-_lah_-da, has long been a great favourite in many parts of the American tropics, from South Florida and Cuba southwards. Yet, it has never been common here in Jamaica, where our lovely rums make it exceptional!"

TRADER VIC'S RUM COOKERY AND DRINKERY (1974) has it on page 138.

PLAYBOY'S PARTY DRINKS (1974) doesn't have it.

PLAYBOY'S NEW BAR GUIDE (1982) has it on page 289.


Barry Popik Comments

I checked the Reader's Guide, and these articles on Puerto Rican tourism didn't have Pina Colada:

HOLIDAY, February 1955--Pg. 59, col. 1--...drank the excellent daiquiris...

HOLIDAY, February 1959--Pg. 22, col. 4--Some frozen Daiquiris on the terrace revived us...

Pg. 23, col. 1--On the tables were small colorful brochures announcing a _Fiesta de Bibidas_, which, I suppose, might best be translated as "Booze Fest." Featured were such startling drinks as (Col. 2; these are Caribe Hilton drinks--ed.) the Hurricane Buster (Calvados, rum and Curacao served in a hurricane lamp) and the Coucou Comber (vodka and Pernod, served in a cucumber). We passed up these and ordered two _Sol Y Sombras_ ($1.35 each). This was no mistake. To suck rum through a straw from a pineapple is about as pleasant an occupation as any I know.

VOGUE, February 1, 1959

HOLIDAY, February 1961

ESQUIRE, November 1962

HOLIDAY, March 1968--Pg. 95, col. 2--Puerto Rican morality is one of her favorite subjects. "Have you heard of Social Fridays?" she asks. "It's an institution most wives take for granted. A night out.

VOGUE, January 15, 1971


From GOURMET, "Summer Drinks," July 1968, pg. 31, col. 1:

Pina Colada

In the container of a blender combine 1 cup canned pineapple cubes with 2 tablespoons coconut milk and 1 teaspoon each of lime juice and sugar. Blend the mixture at high speed until it is a thick puree. Strain the puree through four thicknesses of cheesecloth, pressing the cloth to extract all the juice, and discard the pineapple pulp. Chill the juice and return it to the blender, with 1 1/4 cups firmly packed finely crushed ice and 2 ounces light rum. Blend the mixture at high speed for about 30 seconds, or just until it is the consistency of soft sherbet. Pour the drink into a highball glass and decorate it with a stick of fresh pineapple and a green maraschino cherry. Serve the drink with a straw. The rum may be omitted, if desired.


From GOURMET, "Gourmet Holidays," November 1968, pg. 56, col. 2:

"You will, in any case, arrive in time to swim in the DORADO HILTON's pool and to bask in the late afternoon sun. Then make your way to the hotel's Bamboo Bar for a cooling _pina colada_ or a Daiquiri with Puerto Rican rum (an extremely popular drink Stateside, too), and repair leisurely to your room to change for a _comida puertorriquena_ (a complete Puerto Rican dinner) in the delightfully air-conditioned main dining room."


PINA COLADA (continued)

I could request three years at a time. I looked through 1957-1958-1959, 1960-1961-1962, 1963-1964-1965, and 1966-1967-1968 of QUE PASA IN PUERTO RICO. I did NOT find "pina colada"! Perhaps I'll go back and check the 1970s. It's interesting to note that Trader Vic opened up in the Caribe Hilton in the 1960s. However, the Trader's own books and articles don't mention the "pina colada" drink before the late 1960s-early 1970s.


From QUE PASA IN PUERTO RICO, October 1957, pg. 25:

MIXOLOGIST JOE

Joe Scialom is a master bartender and world renowned mixologist. The former bar manager of Cairo's Shepheard's (sic) Hotel, Joe has been presiding over the Caribar in San Juan's Caribe Hilton since early this year. Joe is more than just a manager--he is a creator with an almost spiritual devotion to the spirits he dispenses. Since he's been at the Hilton, he has developed a number of new drinks, most of them using the light, full flavored Puerto Rican rum as a base. The names Joe picks for his drinks are just as inviting as the mixtures themselves--who can resist when the list includes such fanciful titles as the "Tropical Itch" (served in a stylized hurricane lamp), the "Coucou Comber," (in a cucumber shell), or "Sol y Sombra" (sun and shade). Joe has found great inspiration for his fascinating drinks in Puerto Rico. He likes the climate, the people and the scenery. And Puerto Rico likes Joe. Let's hope he stays around for a long time to come.


"SORTA" PINA COLADA

John Mariani's ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN FOOD & DRINK says that Ramon Monchito Marrero Perez may have served the pina colada at the Caribe Hilton, Puerto Rico, in 1954. The earliest citation I've been able to find is 1966.


This is from THE INTERNATIONAL STEWARD, November 1955, pg. 29, col. 1:

_Puerto Rico Welcome Drinks_ _Say "Hello" to Hotel Guests_ IN THE LAST twelve months more visitors said "hello" (or Spanish "hola") to Puerto Rico than ever before in the island's 460 year history. And for many of these 145,000 tourists, Puerto Rico's famous hotels returned the greeting in the form of a mellow nd memorable "Welcome Drink," served to new guests without cost.

Best known of all is the swank Caribe Hilton's "Rum Welcome," the cool and exciting contents of a real coconut. The prescription:

  • 2 oz. Puerto Rican Rum
  • 1 oz. Apricot Liqueur
  • 1 oz. Coconut Cream (or powder)
  • 1 dash lime
  • Blend with coconut water; serve in coconut filled with ice.

Only slightly less popular at the Caribe is the "Pina Sorpresa" which brings together two of Puerto Rico's best known products--mellow rum and tangy pineapple:

  • 1-1/2 oz. Puerto Rican Rum
  • 1/2 oz. Triple Sec
  • 2 oz. Pineapple Juice
  • dash Lime
  • 1/2 Spoon Sugar
  • Blend with ice in Waring Blender and pour in pineapple.

At the Condado Beach Hotel, the welcome also features pineapple, but that's where the similarity ends.

  • 1 oz. White Puerto Rican Rum
  • 1 oz. Pineapple Juice
  • 1 dash each Grenadine and Simple Syrup
  • Shake with ice and serve in 8 oz. glass.
  • Garnish with fresh fruit.

And Puerto Rico's thousands of new visitors have enough opportunity to follow up their welcome. Not only the luxurious hotels, but the many clubs, casinos and restaurants of the island also pride themselves on no less than 100 different rum drinks ranging from the 10-ingredient Zombie to the growingly popular Rum-on-the-Rocks. Would you expect an Oriental drink served with Puerto Rican rum? Well, just to show you the variety of unusual offerings served in the homeland of rum, this is the "Shanghai Lil" that is currently delighting patrons of Hing's Chinese (Col. 2--ed.) Restaurant in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

  • 2/3 of Orange, Pineapple or Lemon Juice
  • 1/2 jigger Grenadine
  • Dash of Cherry Juice (Col. 3--ed.)
  • 1 Jigger Dark Puerto Rican Rum
  • 1 Jigger White Puerto Rican Rum
  • Garnish with sliced pineapple and cherry. Serve in Zombie glass with shaved ice.

And Puerto Rico's smaller but no less exclusive hotels also get into the act.


SMOOTHEE (1955)

I left this off the last posting on "smoothie."

WARING BLENDER COOK BOOK Waring Products Corporation, NY, 1955 Pg. 9, col. 1:

Banana Smoothee

  • 1 large ripe banana, or
  • 2 medium-sized bananas
  • 2 1/2 cups cold milk

Break banana into several pieces and put in glass container. Add milk. Cover and blend until contents are smooth and fluffy, about 15 seconds. Serve at once. _Gives 2 twelve-ounce servings._


PINA FRIA

IN CUBA AND JAMAICA by H. G. de Lisser Gleaner Company, Kingston 1910

Pg. 10:

"You ask for "pina fria," and he takes a pineapple and peels it and cuts it into large chunks and pounds it up with white sugar and ice and water, and hands the concoction to you in a huge, thick tumbler, and you find it delicious."


PINA FRIA 2

From NEW YORK HERALD-TRIBUNE, 22 March 1952, pg. 9, col. 7:

_Eating, Drinking in Puerto Rico_ (...) "In much the manner of Trader Vic of Oakland, Calif., the Caribe-Hilton has taken over the whole world of rums and the knowledge and understanding thereof. Go into the sea-breeze cooled bar and they present you a menu titled "Bebidas Tropicals," listing eighteen rum drinks. Pina Fria has music in its name; two fingers of cold fresh pineapple juice are blended with one and one-half ounces of white Puerto Rican rum and a half teaspoon of sugar. Shake with fine ice; strain into a champagne glass."

From the NEW YORK HERALD-TRIBUNE, 22 March 1952, pg. 9, col. 7:

"_Eating, Drinking in Puerto Rico_

Fish Dishes, Unusual Fruits and Cool-Blended

Concoctions of Rum Are Bases of Hospitality

By Clementine Paddleford

Along with the room key the incoming guest at the Caribe Hilton, San Juan, Puerto Rico, receives a card of welcome inviting him to a drink on the house. Unless the guest has had a due warning, he may suffer a stroke, for when the production arrives at the table he finds it gargantuan. It's a whole coconut in husk, a slice off the top, the center filled with crushed ice and dynamite. The ingredients for your welcome include two ounces of Puerto Rican rum, one ounce of apricot liqueur, one ounce of coconut cream and a dash of lime. In much the manner of Trader Vic of Oakland, Calif., the Caribe-Hilton has taken over the whole world of rums and the knowledge and understanding thereof. Go into its sea-breeze cooled bar and they present you a menu titled "Bebidas Tropicals," listing eighteen rum drinks. Pina Fria has music in its name: two fingers of cold fresh pineapple juice are blended with one and one-half ounces of white Puerto Rican rum and a half teaspoon of sugar. Shake with fine ice; strain into a champagne glass. San Geronimo punch takes its name from Old Fort San Geronimo on the east grounds ofthe hotel. This is a tough one. The fort has stood as a Spanish bastion for 400 years and this drink is made to commemorate lasting bastions. Here's the mixture: take two ounces of Puerto Rican rum, one and one-half ounces of orange juice, one and one-half ounces of pineapple juice, one-half ounce of lime juice, one teaspoon of sugar, shake well with crushed ice and pour into a Collins glass. At the Caribe Hilton the price is 70 cents."

I use www.bibliofind.com and www.bookfinder.com. I just received this book in:

  • HERTZ GOURMET GUIDE
  • RESTAURANTS & RECIPES OF
  • NEW YORK
  • NEW JERSEY & CONNECTICUT
  • Edited by Leonce Picot
  • Research Unlimited, Inc., Ft. Lauderdale, FL
  • 1964

The back of the book has:

  • RESTAURANTS OF SAN FRANCISCO...
  • RESTAURANTS OF PUERTO RICO
  • Our 80 page hard-cover edition is still available $2.00
  • RESTAURANTS OF FLORIDA
  • GOURMET INTERNATIONAL
  • 3599 North Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Obviously, RESTAURANTS OF PUERTO RICO would be wonderful for "pina colada." How could I miss it? RESTAURANTS OF PUERTO RICO is not in the New York Public Library. It's not in the Library of Congress. It's not on Bibliofind. It's not on Bookfinder. That's how I could miss it! I RECENTLY BOUGHT THIS BOOK!!!jojess@yahoo.com Can anyone find out who has it and inter-library loan it right away, so it's there when I get back from vacation? I'll buy you a pina colada for this.


PINA COLADA (continued)

Merriam-Webster has 1923. What cite is that? Is it from Cuba? The "pina colada" of the "pina colada song" is different, however. That "pina colada" is believed to have been first mixed at the Caribe Hilton in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I recently e-mailed the food service there about their historic menus; the man in charge said he'd look, but never responded again.


From TRAVEL, December 1922, pg. 14, col. 1:

"Havana has learned the art of mixed drinks from her nothern (Col. 2--ed.) neighbor, and has contributed some original creations. In Cuba the ingredients of every known drink are to be had--even those of the South Seas. At the end of almost every bar is a heap of ripe pineapples and green cocoanuts. An excellent drink is made by mixing the milk of the latter with a little gin and a _panal_, a cake of sugar-foam. But best of all is a _pina colada_, the juice of a perfectly ripe pineapple--a delicious drink in itself--rapidly shaken up with ice, sugar, lime and Bacardi rum in delicate proportions. What could be more luscious, more mellow and more fragrant?"


From NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE, September 1933, pg. 365, col. 1:

"For the thirsty there is the "pineapple refreshment," made of freshly crushed pineapple, sugar, and water. Some order it _colada_, which means strained; others like food and drink together, and order it _sin colar_ (without straining), with the pieces of crushed pineapple in the glass, a real treat."

Pg. 380, col. 1:

"I have sat at a sidewalk cafe table, surrounded by well-dressed, well-fed people, sipping a pina colada (see text, page 365), and listening to an orchestra of flashing-eyed beauties play and sing their native music with its strange, yearning rhythm."


PINA COLADA

OED is nearing this entry, and I don't think that I posted this. It's more than just "strained pineapple" here. I provided the Cuban 1922 citation that MERRIAM-WEBSTER now uses. I re-checked for the LOS ANGELES TIMES, but there's nothing there yet.


(PROQUEST HISTORICAL NEWSPAPERS) AT THE BAR


New York Times. New York, N.Y.: Apr 16, 1950

"Drinks in the West Indies range from Martinique's famous rum Punch to Cuba's _pina colada_ (rum, pineapple and coconut milk). Key West has a variety of lime swizzles and punches, and Granadians use nutmeg in their rum drinks. Cubans and Puerto Ricans make a variety of tasty and exotic fruit beverages, These include guanabana (soursop juice), _fruta bomba_ (papaya), watermelon juice, muskmelon juice and a drink of almond blended with banana juice."

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