The piña colada's origin is as frothy and disputed as the drink itself, as multiple Caribbean locales claim credit, with Puerto Rico most famously waving the flag. The modern version is usually traced to San Juan in the 1950s and 1960s, where bartenders like Ramón ‘Monchito’ Marrero and bartender/chef Ramón ‘Don Ramon’ Pérez allegedly fine tuned the blend of rum, coconut cream and pineapple juice into a silky, tropical classic. Earlier antecedents ofrum, coconut and pineapple combinations all existed for centuries throughout the Caribbean, but the piña colada as we recognise it emerged when bartenders began using cream of coconut and blenders to produce that thick, chilled, heavy garnish ready consistency.

The classic piña colada is simple, comforting and dangerously drinkable. White rum, cream of coconut (not to be confused with coconut cream), coconut milk, fresh pineapple juice and ice, often garnished with a pineapple wedge and maraschino cherry. Its popularity exploded in the mid 20th century alongside tourism to Caribbean destinations and the rise of blender cocktails. The availability of canned cream of coconut made the recipe easy to replicate on a mass scale in bars, hotels and home kitchens. By the 1970s the piña colada had become synonymous with tropical escape, helped along by marketing, resort culture and even an anthem like boost when it was declared the official drink of Puerto Rico in the 1970s.