Coquito - Christmas cocktail recipe

After searching the internet for a good eggnog recipe — having never tried, let alone made proper eggnog before — I discovered Coquito! Described by most as "Puerto Rican eggnog" or "coconut eggnog", as a coconut lover I was sold. Eggnog could wait for another day. I wanted to try this Puerto Rican Christmas drink.

Coquito is egg-less, so may go down better with family and friends that are weirded out by drinking eggy booze. It's super rich, so you don't need a lot, but I must admit that everyone was back for a second (and third!) glass!

Ingredients

700ml evaporated milk
440ml cream of coconut
400ml coconut milk
140ml sweetened condensed milk
140ml white rum
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Cinnamon sticks and extra ground cinnamon for garnish (optional)

This recipe makes about 2 litres, so you may want to halve the quantities.

Method

1. Use a blender to blitz the evaporated milk, cream of coconut, coconut milk, condensed milk, rum, vanilla extract and ground cinnamon.

2. Decant in to glass bottles (or any pourable container that you like) and seal. Refrigerate until cold.

3. To serve, shake up the mixture to combine*, and pour over ice. Garnish with a cinnamon stick and an extra sprinkle of ground cinnamon.

*Note: the cocktail will thicken up when it gets cold due to the fat content in the coconut cream, which can clog a narrow bottle neck. A good shake or stir will remedy this.

Christmas coquito cocktails