Painkiller Cocktail Recipe

Few cocktails reside as much as their identify greater than the Painkiller. This crushable mixture of rum, pineapple juice, cream of coconut, and orange juice is wealthy, creamy, refreshingly citrusy, and captures the laid-back spirit of the Caribbean. After ingesting a Painkiller or two, any considerations or stress will really feel like they’ve been washed out to sea. The people-pleasing nature of this cocktail has led it to turn into a staple of seaside bars the world over.

In accordance with The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails, the Painkiller was invented on the Soggy Greenback Bar within the British Virgin Islands. With no dock in sight, most patrons arrived by boat and swam to the bar, usually handing over waterlogged payments to pay for his or her drinks, which led to the bar’s identify. There’s some debate as to precisely who created the drink and when it was created, however its recognition rose all through the Nineteen Eighties. In 1989, Pusser’s Rum trademarked the Painkiller cocktail, so any time it’s on a bar menu, it must be made with the model.

Why the Painkiller works

The pairing of rum, coconut, and pineapple is a tried and true traditional; it’s the idea for the wildly widespread Piña Colada. The Painkiller provides a bit extra complexity to the components with the addition of orange juice and, most significantly, freshly grated nutmeg. It might appear skippable, however nutmeg is an important ingredient that provides the drink a spicy, tropical aroma that units it other than a traditional Piña Colada. 

Because of the cocktail recipe being trademarked, bars that put the Painkiller on their menu can solely use Pusser’s Rum. Impressed by the rum that the British Navy as soon as rationed to sailors, Pusser’s is a demerara-style rum produced in Guyana with a powerful oak character and molasses-forward taste profile. It holds up surprisingly nicely subsequent to the 4 ounces of fruit and coconut used to make this drink. For a bit extra firepower, strive the 54.5% ABV Pusser’s Gunpowder Proof as a substitute of the usual 42% variation.