Pina Colada by Gary Mehigan

Ingredients

1 small ripe pineapple, peeled, core removed, chopped
1 lime, rind finely grated, juiced
60ml white rum
4 ice cubes
180ml coconut milk
40ml chilled sugar syrup (see below)
Crushed ice
Pineapple spear, slice lime & maraschino cherry, to serve

Sugar syrup
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup water

Directions

Combine pineapple, lime rind, lime juice, rum and ice cubes in a blender, blend until smooth. Add the coconut milk and sugar syrup and blend to combine. Taste, adding more sugar syrup and coconut milk if needed

Pour half mixture into a cocktail shaker quarter filled with crushed ice. Shake vigorously. Strain into a large chilled glass. Garnish with pineapple, lime and cherry. Drizzle with a little extra rum if desired. Repeat to make a second cocktail.

If you don’t have a cocktail shaker, strain the mixture at the end of step 1 and serve over a little crushed ice.

To make sugar syrup: combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan and stir over medium heat until sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil, boil for 5 minutes without stirring. Allow to cool.

Makes 2 drinks