Authentic Puerto Rican Coquito

Two hands toast with two glasses filled with coconut rum cocktail

Authentic Puerto Rican Coquito

Course: Drinks

Cuisine: Puerto Rican, Puerto Rican/Hispanic

Keyword: cinnamon, coconut, coquito, rum

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 15

curing time: 2

Total Time: 2 25

Servings: servings

Calories: 404kcal

Author: Marta Rivera

Authentic Coquito is a traditional Christmas drink popular amongst Puerto Ricans with simple ingredients like coconut milk, warm spices, and rum. It is a must for any Puerto Rican holiday celebration and one that excites even non-Puerto Ricans.

Print Recipe

Equipment

Large capacity blender
3 750-milliliter bottles (the third bottle won't be filled completely)

Ingredients

6 sticks cinnamon (optional, used for bottling)

For the Spiced Tea (optional)- Can Be Made 1 Week Ahead

1 cup coconut water or filtered water
3 cinnamon sticks
2 star anise
1 vanilla bean split
1 teaspoon whole cloves
1/2 teaspoon allspice berries optional

For the Coquito

spice tea
15 ounce can (425 grams) cream of coconut
4 cups (960 milliliters) coconut milk or 2 13.5-ounce cans of coconut milk
14 ounce can (396 grams) sweetened condensed milk
1 cup (240 milliliters) white rum
3/4 cup (180 milliliters) gold rum
3/4 cup (180 milliliters) spiced Rum
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon (5 milliliters) pure vanilla extract optional
13.5 ounce can (400 milliliters) canned coconut milk optional for more coconut flavor

Optional Eggnog Version

3 large egg yolks (very fresh)

Instructions

Sanitize Your Bottles

Fill the bottles with very hot water and allow them to sterilize for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, discard the hot water from the bottles, then add two or three cinnamon sticks to the bottles. Set aside while you prepare the recipe.

Make the Spice Tea

Add the coconut water, cinnamon sticks, star anise, split vanilla bean, cloves, and allspice berries to a 2-quart pot.
Bring the water to a boil over high heat and allow it to boil for 2 minutes.
Turn the heat off and allow the spices to steep in the hot water for 10-15 minutes.
After 10 minutes of steeping, strain the tea into a blender and add the cream of coconut. Gradually whisk in the warm tea into the egg yolks, if you're adding them, now, as well.
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.
Press the paste from the vanilla bean into the tea in the blender after straining the spice tea into the blender.

Blend the Coquito

Add the coconut milk, condensed milk, all three rums, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla extract (which is optional) to the blender with the spice tea and cream of coconut.
*You can add canned coconut milk to the blender and the rest of the ingredients if you want a richer, creamier-tasting coquito.
Blend the ingredients for 1 minute on medium-low speed until smooth.

Bottle and Cure the Coquito

Put a fine-mesh sieve lined with a clean tea towel on a funnel.
Carefully pour the liquid through the strainer and into the bottles using the funnel and leaving 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 allow the flavors to blend and the alcohol flavor to mellow out.

Garnish and Enjoy Responsibly

To serve coquito, remove the bottle from the refrigerator and give it a good shake to reincorporate the spices.
Serve the coquito in old-fashioned glasses with a sprinkle of ground cinnamon or grated from cinnamon sticks.

Notes

Swaps and Substitutions:

Tea-less Coquito:
Replace the whole spices with the following:
- 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- pinch of ground allspice
Add these spices to the coquito omitting the additional ground cinnamon and nutmeg from the recipe.
For Virgin Coquito:
- To make virgin coquito, replace the rums with more coconut milk or half-coconut milk and half-coconut water (or regular water)or more spice tea.
Use a box of coconut water if you don't have fresh, or you can replace it with plain water.
You can omit the vanilla bean if you don't have one and add the optional vanilla extract to the blender with the rums later.
You can replace the gold and spiced rum in this recipe with light rum if you prefer to keep it simple.
Make a more potent version by using 151. This type of rum is an over-proofed spirit and will give it more kick.
Palo Viejo, Don Q, Ron del Barrilito, or Bacardí, which is Cuban-born, are rums made in Puerto Rico.
You can make dairy-free or vegan coquito by replacing the sweetened condensed milk with condensed coconut milk.
Use soy milk, almond milk, or oat milk if you decide to replace the optional canned coconut milk in this recipe with evaporated milk.
Don't add eggs if you want to make this a vegan coquito recipe.
Omit the cinnamon sticks if you don't keep them on hand.

Tips and Techniques:

It's helpful if the spice tea is still warm so it can melt the fat cap that usually tops the cream of coconut.
Virgin coquito has a shorter shelf-life because there's no alcohol to ward off bacteria. You'll have to consume the virgin drink within 10 days of making it.
The chunks (or lumps) in the coquito are from coconut fat in the cream of coconut. Shaking the can of cream of coconut and warming it with the spice tea will reduce the chunkiness.
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.
When using fresh coconut milk, a small amount of separation occurs because it doesn't contain the stabilizers as canned coconut milk.
You can serve coquito over ice, but it waters down the drink.
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.

Storage Instructions:

You can store coquito made with alcohol in the fridge for up to 1 year, even with the addition of 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.

Freezer Instructions:

Coquito that contains alcohol can be frozen for more than one year in a freezer-safe bottle or airtight container. The consistency will be more like a milkshake instead of freezing solid.
Virgin coquito freezes 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, shaking it well to mix it evenly.

Nutrition