Easy & Authentic Puerto Rican Coquito
There’s nothing I love more during the holiday season than family and boozy drinks. Just kidding, I love the food too!
But I gotta say… the first time I tried this boozy Puerto Rican coconut drink, I nearly cried tears of happiness at how delicious it tasted. It’s rich and creamy and, I prefer it over Cuban crema de vie eggnog (sorry Mami!).
Coquito (pronounced ko-key-toe) is a party in a cup! It’s not as thick as eggnog because of all the booze in it and honestly, it’s one of my favorite easy cocktail recipes!
Making Coquito In 1 Step
Recommended For This Recipe
High-Speed Blender
I use this high-speed Ninja Blender all the time. It’s perfect for making smooth soups, creamy smoothies, delicious dips, and awesome sauces. It’s also easy to clean!
Best Rum For Coquito
Coquito is made with two different types of rum. Barcardi white rum provides a light and balanced flavor and, Captain Morgan provides a delicious nutty, caramel-like flavor.
You can also make coquito WITHOUT rum for kids to enjoy and then serve the coconut cocktail to the adults with the shots of the rum next to it. It may be a bit thicker without the alcohol but will still be delicious! Also, this virgin version will freeze better too since there is no alcohol.
Chilling Time
Listen, I know you want to enjoy it right out of the blender BUT you want to chill it first before serving. Chilling the drink will allow all the milks and cinnamon to infuse together. Trust me, it’ll be worth the wait.
You don’t want to serve it with ice and water down the drink. No sir. Transfer the boozy beverage to a pitcher and seal it with plastic wrap OR transfer it to a bottle with an airtight lid. Place it in the fridge for 1-2 hours to chill.
Make Ahead Tips
You can make this recipe 2 hours or up to 3 days ahead of time so it’s ready to go before your next holiday gathering. Just place it in the fridge until ready to drink!
Coquito Desserts – Yes, that’s a thing!
Did you know you can make boozy desserts with coquito? I’ve been doing it for years!
I’ve made donut holes with a pipette of coquito in them. So fun! I’ve also made luscious cheesecake bars and boozy sugar cookies because Noche Buena is not the same without coquito-flavored desserts!
Here are the recipes you must add to your to-do list:
Easy & Authentic Puerto Rican Coquito
Equipment
Ingredients
- 12 ounces evaporated milk
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- 15 ounces sweetened cream of coconut, (I recommend Coco Lopez)
- 13.5 ounces full-fat coconut milk
- 2 cups white rum, (I recommend Bacardi)
- 1 cup spiced rum, (I recommend Captain Morgan)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon, plus more for garnish
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Cinnamon sticks, for garnish
Instructions
- In a blender, add evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, sweetened cream of coconut, full-fat coconut milk, white rum, spiced rum, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Blend until well combined.
- Listen, I know you want to enjoy it right out of the blender BUT you want to chill it first before serving. Chilling the drink will allow all the milks and cinnamon to infuse together. Trust me, it’ll be worth the wait. You don’t want to serve it with ice and water down the drink. No sir. Transfer the boozy beverage to a pitcher and seal with plastic wrap OR transfer it to a bottle with an airtight lid. Place it in the fridge for 1-2 hours to chill.
- When you're ready to serve, shake the bottle to break up the solidified milks (or stir if it's in a pitcher). Serve chilled in a glass with a sprinkle of cinnamon on top. Enjoy!
Great recipe, thanks 🙏 I will make it today, didn’t know about 2 kinds of Rum Ummm! I can’t wait 😛 Feliz Navidad ! 🎄🎄🎄🎄🙏🙏🙏🙏💯
YAY! Come back soon and let me know how you like it! :)
You got it almost right. Our coquito (yes I’m puertorican) it isn’t eggnog it does not have egg, at least the traditional one. I know there are some people who like it with egg but that is not coquito. And we do not use nutmeg. That’s for eggnog, not coquito. But the rest you got queen! About the rum, use whichever you like. And of course you still can make it without alcohol for the kids and it’ll be delicious too.
Listen guy, as a Puerto Rican myself I have to disagree with the egg thing. Every family has a different way of making coquito, and weather you put eggs in it just depends on who taught you the recipe.
Eggs or no eggs is a massive debate, and everyone has one side that they’ll fight to the death for.
I’ve had a taste of both and can confidently say, egg or no egg, coquito is just as delicious.
However, it’s not eggnog so it shouldn’t be called eggnog and scare anti-eggnog people from trying it.
Looks like you missed the first line of the recipe description next to the photo which says “eggnog without the eggs”. :)
It is Puerto Rican Eggnogg..
Please…the word eggnog should never, ever be attached to Coquito. It’s Coquito and that’s it!!!
I would recommend using Don Q Cristal rum. It tastes better than Barcardi and is an actual Puerto Rican rum. Barcardi is really a Cuban rum. The family fled Cuba and went to PR in the mid 1900s. Don Q has been made in PR for over 100 years. So, to be really traditional, Don Q would fit that bill.
Wepa