Caribbean Rum Cocktail Recipe

Sail into summer with an island specialty

Caribbean imbibing: Are there two words in the English language more perfect to string together?

All throughout the turquoise-hued paradise that lives south of the United States, there's a long-standing tradition of maritime bars serving tropical rum drinks to thirsty sailors. In the British Virgin Islands, there's a magical place called Soggy Dollar Bar, named for the state of your dollars upon arriving (as you get to it only by swimming from a boat). Sometime back in the 1970s, an artistic bartender decided to put coconut cream and nutmeg into a rum drink—and the Painkiller was born. Today it is still (in?)famous among sailors, swimmers and salty sea dogs alike.

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For those of us who may find swimming to the Soggy Dollar a tad inconvenient, making a Painkiller is a fair substitute (tuning in to its live webcam via your work desktop doesn't hurt either). You could get fancy with the drink and serve it in a curvy tropical glass, but I stick to the only way it's ever been given to me: in a plastic cup. Also, adding a pinch of salt is key, because the best way to drink one of these babies is standing waist-deep in the ocean with the waves splashing just enough to salt your drink.

Bottoms up, matey.

Recipe from the Tasting Table Test Kitchen

The Painkiller

5 (56 ratings)

For those of us unable to embark on an island getaway, making a tropical drink with rum, pineapple juice and cream of coconut, is a close substitution. 

Prep Time
5
minutes
Cook Time
0
minutes
servings
1
cocktail
Total time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 ounces dark rum
  • 1 ounce orange juice
  • ¾ ounce pineapple juice
  • ¾ ounce Coco López cream of coconut
  • A pinch of salt
  • Ice
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg

Directions

  1. In a shaker, combine all the liquids and the salt. Fill with ice and shake vigorously. Strain the drink into an ice-filled cup; top with the nutmeg and serve.
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