Best Coquito Recipe (Puerto Rican Coconut Eggnog) (2024)

FAQs

What is the best rum for Puerto Rican coquito? ›

My favorite white rum to use here is Bacardí Superior—it's light and aromatic, with floral and fruity notes. This infusion comes together in seconds and can be done the day before folks come to gather. Spiced rum doesn't end with coquito either. After you make a batch for coquito, go ahead and make another.

Coquito should be smooth, but it can become chunky if you use coconut milk instead of cream of coconut. The fat in coconut milk can separate and solidify towards the top of the container. Returning it to the blender just before serving should resolve the issue.

It's because the fat from the coconut is solidifying. If this happens to you, I would pop it in the blender right before serving. That should dissolve any bits that might've solidified.

Egg Yolks.

Egg yolks are an emulsifier, which helps keep the coquito from separating while chilling in your fridge, and they are a thickener so if you like the thickness of eggnog, adding fresh egg yolks will give you that.

Inés calls for white rum here—ideally Puerto Rican rum, like Bacardí or Don Q—but you can swap in dark rum for more syrupy, spiced notes (just avoid coconut rum, which has a more artificial coconut flavor). If you have time, soak a few cinnamon sticks in the bottle of rum for a few days to infuse it with woodsy spice.

Don Q. If you're a spirit-lover visiting Puerto Rico, you're probably looking forward to enjoying the many popular varieties of rum. The top-selling rum on the island is Don Q, a favorite of the locals. It's produced in the Destilería Serrallés in Ponce, and it can be found in a variety of co*cktails all over the island ...

White rum.

I recommend traditional Barcardi white rum for this recipe as it provides a light but balanced flavor which is perfect for this drink so it doesn't overpower the coconut flavor (we want the coconut flavor to be the star!).

Does Coquito Need To Be Refrigerated? Coquito should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator; kept that way, it can keep for anywhere from 4 to 8 weeks. The ingredients may settle between servings, particularly if you used eggs, so be sure to stir before you pour.

When coconut milk is heated up, the protein changes its shape and ability to react with water and oil, which is what scientists call 'denaturing of the protein'. The protein releases oil and water and contracts into a tight chain. These contracted protein chains are visible as the white specks or curds.

Rum, vanilla, and other extracts are added after it cools. Adding all ingredients with ground spices to the blender makes a fast alternative with no eggs. This usually results in the drink separating after a few minutes and the fat from the coconut solidifying, causing a chunky coquito with lumps.

Does Puerto Rican coquito go bad? ›

Every recipe for these holiday drinks, including Puerto Rican coquito, uses some kind of milk in the recipe, from evaporated to condensed. And as soon as any of those cans are opened, the clock starts ticking before bacteria start to grow to unsafe levels, she said.

As your coquito chills in the fridge, it will thicken. If you have already let it chill in the fridge and it is still too thin that usually means the coconut milk you used was one without the thick coconut cream on top.

If too thick for your liking, add another 1/4 cup cinnamon water. Transfer the coquito to a bottle/container. Drop the cinnamon sticks in the bottle and refrigerate.

Don Q. Don Q, manufactured by the Serrallés family in the town of Ponce, is the most popular rum in Puerto Rico, but it doesn't have a distillery open to the public. You can, however, visit the Serrallés Castle Museum.

These include: Don Q, Bacardí, Palo Viejo, Ron del Barrilito, and Ron Llave. These Puerto Rican rum brands have a reputation for high standards of production and consistent, high-quality products. Each of these can be considered by many to be the best rum in Puerto Rico.

A cream-based coconut liqueur, Coquito is a traditional Puerto Rican Holiday co*cktail. BACARDÍ Coquito is made with BACARDÍ Superior Rum and a mix of vanilla, cinnamon and other festive spices.

Rum Zacapa gets distilled using the Solera system, which is a method of aging. In general, aged rum will elevate flavors of vanilla, cinnamon, and oak in a coquito. In general, Solera system rums are darker in hue, have a richer mouthfeel, and add a kick of sweetness along with complexity to the coquito.