Easy Coquito Recipe

Hello followers, thank you for stopping by. My name is JC, and I am coming to you from the Cuban Redneck kitchen, where today we will be making yet another holiday drink! I am talking about Coquito. This holiday drink comes to you from the beautiful island of Puerto Rico, where it is considered a staple during the holiday season. In Spanish, the word Coquito is a diminutive of coconut, something like “Little Coconut.” This alcoholic beverage is similar to eggnog with a pronounced taste of coconut, so if you love eggnog and coconut, wait until you try my take on Coquito. As with other videos, I know that some people will call this a Puerto Rican Eggnog in the comment section, but I think that all Caribbean holiday punches are a step about the eggnog any day of the week. That includes this Coquito recipe and the Cuban Crema de Vie and the Punch a crème from Trinidad.

To all the purists, I want to say that this is not the type of Coquito recipe you are going to find at a Christmas party in San Juan, but rather one that is a lot easier to make while maintaining the extra thick and creamy coconut, rum and cinnamon taste profile synonymous with a traditional Puerto Rican Coquito.

• A 1-liter Empty Bootle
• One can of Coconut Sweetened Condensed Milk
• One can of evaporated milk (coconut milk is optional)
• 4 Egg Yolks (this is optional – see below)
• 2 Cinnamon Sticks
• 2 Cloves
• 5 Cups of Sugar
• 5 Cups of Water
• White Rum to Taste
• 1 tsp of Vanilla extract
• 1 Tbsp of Coconut Extract

If you have watched any of my other punch/holiday drink videos at the Cuban Redneck DIY channel, you probably have figured out by now that all of these recipes have three things in common. Sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and egg yolks. However, the egg yolks are 100% optional. I add the egg yolks to add body or viscosity to the drink. Whenever I don’t use the egg yolks, the guest at my parties notice it right away! In fact, I started to use Yolks due to feedback from people who would tell me the one you did before was more cream, or it was only a little more creamy; it would be perfect!

So, if you understand what these three components do, you will be able to adjust the ratios and make this or any other punch drink to your particular taste. The sweetened condensed milk is, as the name describes, the sweet component. It is also common to use simple syrups for an added sweet note. The evaporated milk is a binder to keep the condensed milk from coagulating and protein. Which, along with the egg yolks, control the viscosity. To this mixture, add liquor of your choice, rum, whisky, bourbon, vodka, tequila, etc., and a taste definer like coconut cream and pineapple, coffee, chocolate, banana extra, and you have yourself a holiday punch drink recipe!

For this particular Coquito recipe, we will start with a simple syrup consisting of 1.5 Cups of Water, 1.5 Cups of Sugar, 2 Cinnamon Sticks, 2 Cloves. Please put all of these ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring it to t a boil. Once at a boil, reduce the heat slightly and keep it at a simmer until reduced by 20-25%. Take it off the heat and set it aside to cool down. Go ahead and separate whatever amount of yolks you decide to use. I want this one really creamy, so I am using four! Put that aside, and in a large mixing bowl, combine your sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk, add the syrup, mix it well, then add the egg yolks. Mix it well run it through a sieve to make sure we don’t have any eggie pieces and into your empty bottle!

Now, the rum part is something that is always up for debate! Using these quantities and a 1-liter bottle, you will end up with a pretty neutral from an alcohol point of view! However, many like it a little more turn up, so please wait until it has been in the fridge for 3-4 hours and make that judgment then!

I hope you take the recipe as a stepping stone, a base of a sort, when considering making a Coquito on your next holiday party! Happy Holidays from the Cuban Redneck!