When I was a little girl and this time of year would come around, I remember my Mama Margot (grandma) and My Titi Toni (my mothers sister) standing around the kitchen talking about making Coquito back in the day when my grandmother was little. Back then they would make a spice tea to add to the coquito mix. I also remember them talking about using an ice pick and hammer to puncture two holes in a coconut, one to release the coconut water and the other to allow air and make the release of coconut water come out quickly. I then remember them saying they used a machete to crack the coconut in half. And releasing the coconut meat. They would shred the meat using a “rallador,” and shred this coconut meat until it was pulverized BY HAND!!! They would then place it in a towel and ring it or squeeze all the coconut milk out into a large pot that had the coconut water in it. They then added the tea, rum, eggs, cinnamon and then bottled it. I may have left out a few steps and ingredients…As I am reading this out loud my mother is sitting across from me laughing in tears saying…”What family are you talking about i don’t remember any of this”…hence i never mentioned her in the above story…She in tears said your grandmother would never hold a machete! She was very young! What a crazy process!!! I thank god for technology. I am taking my inspiration from my family’s recipe with an easier and more flavorful, yet strong Pink Papaya twist!
WARNING!!! WARNING!!! WARNING!!
This recipe is not for the faint of heart…If you don’t like Rum SCROLL ON!
If you get drunk just by smelling a beer… SCROLL ON!
This Triple Rum will knock your socks off but…tastefully so!
If you Drink Rum and like to dance on table tops… THIS IS DEFINITELY FOR YOU!!!
Please Drink responsibly and crawl home… no driving allowed!
Spiced Coquito
Ingredients
The Tea
- 3 Cups of Coconut Water
- 9 Cinnamon Sticks
- 6 Star Anise
- 1 Tbs. Vanilla Bean Paste
- 3 tsp whole cloves
The Coquito
- 4.5 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
- ¾ tsp. Ground Nutmeg
- 3 15 oz. Cans of Cream of Coconut
- 3 14 oz. Cans of Sweetened Condensed Milk
- 6 13.5 oz. Cans of Coconut Milk or 81 ounces if you buy the quart containers
- 3 tsp. Vanilla Bean Paste
- 3 Cups Bacardi White Rum
- 3 Cups Bacardi Coconut Rum
- 3 Cups Captain Morgan Spiced Rum
- 1 Cups Disaronno or Amaretto of choice.
Garnish
- Coconut Flakes
- Cream of Coconut
- Cinnamon Stick
Instructions
Instructions: Tea
- Gather your ingredients
- Place a saucepan on the stove top. Ensure it has a lid.
- Place your coconut water in the saucepan.
- Place all of your spices into your coconut water filled pot.
- Mix well.
- Put on high heat and bring to a boil.
- Once it comes to a boil. Cover and set to the side for 30 minutes, this will allow your tea to steep.
- Strain your tea into a small bowl and let cool, set aside.
Instructions: Spiced Coquito
- Gather your ingredients. (We are dividing everything into 3 batches to make it simpler for us as our mixer isn't large enough for one large batch)
- Gather your blender and large pitcher, pot or whatever vessel can hold this amount of liquid.
- Add your cream of coconut, coconut milk, sweet condensed milk and vanilla bean paste to the blender. (We divided all ingredients for this in 3rds to make it easier)
- Add your tea, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, 3 Rums and Amaretto also to your blender. Place each batch into your large vessel, in our case we bought this large pitcher with a dispenser valve to fill our bottles. (Again we divided all our batches into a 3rd to make it easier)
- Turn your blender on medium speed and mix your ingredients until well incorporated.
- Placing each batch into the pitcher, pot or large vessel, and whisking as you go to incorporate everything. (Repeat the above steps until you have added all your batches to the pitcher!)
- Once, all of your ingredients are in your pitcher, vessel or large pot taste it. See if it needs more Rum. If so, add ½ cup at a time until it meets your desired taste.
- Let's bottle these babies up!
- Add 3 cinnamon sticks to each bottle.
- Fill each bottle almost to the top leaving 1 inch to the top.
- Refrigerate immediately.
Before serving, take out your coquito for a few minutes to soften. That will let some of the coconut that has built around the top easier to shake and incorporate again.
- To serve, pull out your glasses of choice.
- Gather your garnish ingredients and two small plates.
- Pour some of your coconut cream onto one plate
- Your coconut flakes on the other.
- Dip your rim in coconut cream.
- Dip in shredded coconut, to adorn your rim because, We Fancy Like That!
- Fill your cup carefully so as not to ruin your rim.
- For garnish, serve with a cinnamon stick.
- Enjoy, Felicidades y Wepa mi gente!
Origin of Coquito "Atleast what we think we know"
Coquito “Meaning Little Coconut” was originally found in Puerto Rico. However, drinks similar to coquito are found throughout the Caribbean. There are two different theories about the origin of the drink. Some believe the person who created coquito along with how the recipe began is unknown. Only that it was created by a local in Puerto Rico.
Others say that the drink was brought to the Caribbean by the Spanish during Puerto Rico’s colonial period. The Spanish took their version of eggnog and combined it with the local rum, creating coquito. As they continued to travel and settle in other areas, the drink followed them, with different variations around the Caribbean. The variations are very similar to what they considered the original recipe: milk and sugar. Although this was seen as the original ingredient, Puerto Rico altered it by adding coconut.
