Rachel Maddow joined me recently on my food podcast The Sporkful, where our motto is "It's not for foodies, it's for eaters," and she proved herself a worthy guest.
During our discussion on Cocktail Philosophy, Rachel showed that, like Sporkful fans everywhere, she's always pursuing new and better ways to eat. That pursuit has led her to develop a new and improved pina colada, which we're dubbing "The Maddow Colada."
As Rachel explains it, drinks like the daiquiri started off simple and natural and were later turned into artificial mixes, but the pina colada was nasty on day one. Its core ingredient -- Coco Lopez Cream of Coconut -- has been a chemical slurry since its advent in the 40's. But how to make a more natural and organic pina colada without Coco Lopez? Well, Rachel has developed a way, and after our interview, she emailed me the full recipe. Now, we're sharing it with the world! The "Original" and the "Maddow" are as follows:
Original Pina Colada Recipe
1.5 oz light rum
1 oz meyers
2 oz coco lopez
1 oz cream
4 oz pineapple
blend with crushed ice
garnish: maraschino cherry and pineapple wedge
Maddow's Pina Colada Improvement
1.5 oz light rum
1 oz 8 year old Bacardi or other nice medium-bodied amber rum
1.5 oz unsweetened coconut milk
1.5 oz orgeat syrup (tessier is best)
4 oz pineapple juice
mix with ice
don't strain, serve in a short glass, garnish with pineapple wedge, tiny umbrella
serve with short, stubby (fat) straws