We’re switching gears this month to frozen drinks, and we’re starting with the much-maligned Piña Colada. A classic Piña Colada combines rum and pineapple with coconut cream, a heavily-adulterated and artificial ingredient. But it’s also the key to the Piña Colada, giving the drink a sweetness and a thick, rich mouthfeel that are hard to mimic with homemade coconut creams, stymying most efforts to elevate this drink to the craft level. Turns out it’s actually pretty easy: just toss out the coconut cream and throw in some ice cream. I mean, it’s August, right? Ice cream! – Andrew

Illustration by Shauna Lynn for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Boozy Piña Colada Milkshake

1 oz Silver Rum
1/2 oz Jamaican Rum
1 1/2 oz Pineapple Juice
1 1/4 cups Coconut Ice Cream or Gelato

Combine the rums, pineapple juice, and ice cream in a blender or milkshake mixer and blend. Pour into a milkshake glass or highball and top with toasted coconut flakes and a cherry. Enjoy!

Boozy milkshakes are a staple at one of our favorite neighborhood restaurants, Ted’s Bulletin, so it seemed natural to start trying some recipes at home. We paired a mild, St-Lucian silver rum with a touch of a wildly funky Jamaican rum, to give the shake a bit of bite. It’s just as rich and sweetly redolent of coconut as the original, just as cold, but – if you picked an all-natural ice cream – without all those artificial stabilizers and hard-to-pronounce preservatives. I’m good with that.

(Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram, where we’ve been posting our experiments before they make their way onto this column!)

Glassware by Liquorary

Photo Credits: Nole Garey for Oh So Beautiful Paper