The piña colada has been (in my humble opinion), one of life's favorite cocktail of many memories (good and/or bad). 
The cocktail reminds me of only one word... 'vacation'!
By Sirena He - Esquire - 1 Aug 24
"If you like piña coladas ... then you’ll love the unique ways these bars are serving them up"."On a recent and relentlessly humid summer evening, I ducked into The Commodore II in the Lower East Side of Manhattan to grab what I've been told is one of the best piña coladas in all of New York City.
Named after the bar's original location in Williamsburg, The Commodore is a made-to-order piña colada with an amaretto float that promises respite from whatever problems or inclement weather awaits outside the watering hole's wood-paneled doors.
We’re not in sunny Puerto Rico, where many claim the drink originated. We’re in the city that stays up all night and wants a frozen cocktail with no artificial flavors and a unique spin on originals that make us feel special, like we’re reinventing classics for the first time.
Summertime heat, waves crashing on a beach, and the smell of sunscreen all come flooding to your senses when you get that first taste of the icy, creamy coconut cocktail.
This year marks 70 years since the beverage's invention, though the origin story remains contentious. Legend says that Puerto Rican pirate Roberto Cofresí was the first to create the rum and coconut drink, sharing it with his crew to inspire morale.
More widespread is that it was first mixed at the Caribe Hilton Hotel.
They claim that in 1954, bartender Ramón “Monchito” Marrero decided to experiment with the flavors of pineapple juice, coconut cream, and rum until he perfected a recipe for what we now know as the piña colada.
Another bartender at the Caribe Hilton, Ricardo Garcia, claims he created the cocktail two years earlier.
And just down the road in Old San Juan, The Barrachina Restaurant also claims to have been the birthplace of the piña colada, crediting their bartender Don Ramon Portas Mingot for concocting the frozen drink.
The Rebirth of the Piña Colada
However the drink began, it's been a mainstay in cocktail culture ever since.
All the way up on the East Coast, The Commodore still relies on the old-fashioned technique of blending one batch of piña colada at a time.
Sure, it may take a minute for a frosty glass to appear in front of you, but that’s because there’s no crank lever slushy machines around.
Unsurprisingly, whatever bar you’re steered to with a renowned piña colada probably wouldn't have one.
The incessantly churning frozen drink machines actually destroy the harmony of the flavors in a piña colada, and often turns the sweet notes syrupy, and sours the creamy elements".
Read More: The Piña Colada @ 70yrs
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