Authentic Coquito

What Is Coquito?

Coquito originated in Puerto Rico, though many other Caribbean islands serve a version of it. Haiti has cremas, Trinidad and Tobago has coconut ponche de creme, and Jamaica has coconut rum punch. Coquito is popular in the Spanish-speaking Caribbean, with many different versions of the recipe. Mine is the best, though. 

Coquito means “little coconut” in Spanish and is a holiday drink typically served from Thanksgiving through Three Kings Day (Dia de los Reyes) in Puerto Rico and other parts of the Caribbean. Though it’s most often served during the holiday season, you can serve it any time of the year. The original coquito recipe was an alcoholic beverage made with fresh coconut milk and pitorro (cane sugar moonshine). Sugar cane smoothed out the burn from the pitorro.

Around Halloween, Puerto Ricans start brewing a big batch of coquito so it has time to cure for their holiday parties. This coconut-based drink, along with many of our traditional foods, is a staple at every family gathering. Christmas time, especially, is when you’ll see us enjoying a glass of cold coquito (maybe two or three). 

What Ingredients Do You Need to Make Coquito?

The main ingredients in this coquito recipe are full-fat coconut milk, a spice tea, cream of coconut, sweetened condensed milk, light rum, gold or dark rum, spiced rum, pure vanilla extract (optional), ground cinnamon, and ground nutmeg. 

The best way to make coquito is with freshly squeezed coconut milk because it gives it a smoother, less viscous taste than one made with a ton of canned milk. That said, if you don’t have the time or desire to make coconut milk at home, you can use evaporated coconut milk from the can.

Additionally, you a make this an alcohol-free coquito, a vegan version, or a dairy-free coquito. I’ll walk you through all of them.

Why I Make A Spice Tea

I grew up with Mami making a spice tea to flavor her coquito. As a result, I’ve become slightly snobbish about the appearance of it.

Flavoring the coquito with a warm spice tea adds extra flavor while keeping an appealing milky-white color. If you add the same amount of spices– in their ground form– the coquito will be murky and form a sludge at the bottom of the glass bottle.

Add coconut water, one large cinnamon stick (or 3 small sticks), star anise, whole cloves, allspice berries, and a split vanilla bean to a pot. You can omit the vanilla bean if you don’t have one and add vanilla extract to the blender with the rum later.

You can also use a box of coconut water if you don’t have fresh, or you can replace it with plain water. Bring the water to a boil over high heat and boil for 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the spices steep in the hot water for 10-15 minutes.

After steeping for 10 minutes, strain the tea into a blender and add the cream of coconut.

PRO TIP: if you plan to add eggs to your coquito, temper them with the warm tea but whisking 1/4 cup of the tea into the beaten eggs. Return the eggs to the saucepan and heat them on low heat for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Then, add this mixture to the cream of coconut.

IIt helps if the spice tea is still warm, so it can melt the fat cap that usually tops the cream of coconut. If your tea feels cool to the touch, heat it again until it steams, then add it to the blender or a bowl with the cream of coconut. Gradually whisk in the warm tea into the egg yolks, if you’re adding them, now, as well. Press the paste from the vanilla bean into the tea in the blender after straining the spice tea into the blender. 

I prefer to use Coco Lopez cream of coconut because it has a prominent, less tinny coconut flavor. Cream of coconut is not the same as a can of coconut cream. The latter contains no sugar, whereas the cream of coconut is sweetened, so don’t make the mistake of using that.

How Do I Make Coquito?

Add the coconut milk, condensed milk, all three rums, ground cinnamon, and the nutmeg to the blender with the spice tea and cream of coconut.

Blend the ingredients for 1 minute on medium-low speed until smooth. 

Blend the ingredients for 1 minute on medium-low speed until smooth.

Do I Have To Use Three Different Rums?

You can replace the gold and spiced rum in this recipe with light rum if you prefer to keep it simple. I prefer the complex flavors the darker rums add to the coquito, so I always use them. 

You can also make a more potent version by using 151. This type of rum is an overproofed spirit and will add more kick. Coquito should be made with Puerto Rican rum or, at the very least, a Caribbean rum. Palo Viejo, Don Q, Ron del Barrilito, or Bacardí are rums made in Puerto Rico, although the latter is a Cuban-born rum.

How Do I Store It?

The best thing about this recipe is that it almost fills three 750-milliliter bottles. I store mine in wine bottles that I buy from a local home brewing supply store or online. Using a decorative, airtight glass bottle is a fun way to gift this coquito to your friends and family, too. Most people couldn’t care less about decorative bottles; they care more about what’s in them.

Sanitize the bottles by pouring in hot water and leaving them for 10 minutes. 

I add two or three cinnamon sticks to my bottles because cinnamon is a prominent flavor in coquito. Empty the bottles, then add two or three cinnamon sticks. You can omit them if you don’t keep cinnamon sticks on hand.

Put a fine-mesh sieve lined with a clean tea towel (or cheesecloth) on a funnel. Straining the coquito through the towel and sieve before curing reduces clumping later.

Carefully pour the liquid through the strainer and into the bottles using the funnel. Leave a 1-inch headspace at the top of each bottle of coquito so you can shake the spices back into it later. 

Refrigerate and let the coquito chill for at least forty-eight hours to let the flavors blend and the alcohol mellow. I wouldn’t drink coquito the same day you make it, though it won’t hurt you if you do. It’s always better the next day or a couple of days later.

How to Serve Coquito

To serve coquito, remove the bottle from the refrigerator and give it a good shake to reincorporate the spices. When using fresh coconut milk, it a separates slightly because it doesn’t contain the stabilizers found in canned coconut milk. Shaking sets everything back in place. 

You can serve coquito over ice, but I don’t because it waters down the drink, and I’m trying to enjoy as much of that flavor as possible.

Serve the coquito in old-fashioned glasses with a sprinkle of ground cinnamon, or grate cinnamon sticks over the cocktail for a “bougie-er” touch. To impress coconut lovers, dip the rim of your cocktail glass in a small amount of maple syrup, followed by a dip in coconut flakes to create a coconut rim.

We don’t do all that in our family. The best part is what comes out of the glass, not what it looks like.

How Long Does Coquito Last?

You can store alcohol-based coquito in the fridge for up to 1 month, even with eggs. The longer the coquito cures, the smoother and more profound its flavor is, as with traditional eggnog. 

Coquito made without alcohol should be consumed within a week, or 7 days, of mixing it. 

Can I Freeze Coquito?

Coquito that contains alcohol can be frozen for more than one year in a freezer-safe bottle or airtight container. The alcohol in the drink will keep it from freezing solid, and the consistency will be more like a milkshake.

Virgin coquito will freeze solid, so store it in a freezer-safe container for up to one year. 

Thaw frozen coquito in the fridge when you’re ready to enjoy it, and shake well to mix evenly. 

Try this Coquito Frozen Custard recipe if you’re into frozen coquito. It’s a richer version of homemade coconut ice cream. 

What Other Ways Can I Enjoy This Recipe?

I’m the queen of coquito recipes. Here are some other recipes to use it in:

• Coquito Tres Leches is a Puerto Rican version of one of Latin America’s traditional dishes.
• This Coquito Cheesecake has a cult following. 
• Coconut-Rum Cream Pie has the flavors you know and love from the cocktail.

Here is a post with all my Coquito Recipes.