This rum and pineapple agua fresca cocktail is the perfect party recipe and let guests add the rum to their taste!
Grocery shopping, for me, is a dangerous activity – no matter how many times I tell myself to “only buy what’s on the list!” I rarely follow that sage advice. Sometimes, that’s a good thing – other times, not so much, as was the case with this pineapple I bought the other day.
I had grand plans for a dish to make with it (which will get made because I know it’s gonna be “da bomb”) but that just wasn’t gonna happen before the pineapple reached the point of no return.
So, I had to figure out what I was going to do with a very, very ripe pineapple. Fortunately, the answer was simple – agua fresca! Agua fresca, or “cooling water ” is found throughout latin America. A simple infusion made from fruits, seeds, flowers, nuts or grains and sweetened with sugar, these drinks are refreshing and thirst quenching. But agua frescas also make a great base for cocktails… so you know where this was going right? Yes, a Rum and Pineapple Agua Fresca!
I’ve been playing around with agua frescas as a base for cocktails and it’s a concept I really like – the agua fresca is easy to make, especially for a crowd so it’s perfect for parties – and you can drink it “as is” or ahem add your tipple of choice. Since I was working with pineapple, rum seemed the obvious choice – but it would be interesting to experiment with other spirits – mezcal, reposado tequila or even bourbon would be good as well. Likewise, you could further “gussy” this Rum and Pineapple Agua Fresca up by adding some other complimentary flavors such as ginger syrup for the sugar, or using coconut water with the pineapple juice.
This Rum and Pineapple Agua Fresca goes great with a little of different foods but really shines with spicy and bold flavors – like these Chorizo Burgers with Chile Crema. So instead of whipping up a batch of margaritas you might try this Rum and Pineapple Agua Fresca instead!
Rum and Pineapple Agua Fresca
Ingredients
- For Pineapple Agua Fresca
- 5 cups peeled and chopped pineapple approximately 1 pineapple
- juice of 1 lime
- 4 cups water
- 3 Tablespoons dark brown sugar
- For Rum and Pineapple Agua Fresca
- 4 oz. Pineapple agua fresca
- 1 ½ oz. Appleton Estate Rum
- ½ oz. demerara syrup
- Ice
- For Demerara syrup
- Combine ½ cup demerara or dark brown sugar with ½ cup water in a medium saucepan. Bring mixture to a simmer and cook until sugar is dissolved. Cool and store in the refrigerator.
Instructions
- For the Pineapple Agua Fresca:
- Combine the pineapple, lime juice, water and sugar in a blender and puree. Strain through a strainer.
- For the Rum and Pineapple Agua Fresca
- Combine 4 oz. pineapple agua fresca, rum and demerara syrup in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake for 20 - 45 seconds. pour over ice in a rocks glass. Garnish with pineapple if desired.
Nutrition
I am so glad you used my favorite rum in this. Appleton is the only rum, in my opinion. 🙂 What a great summer drink!
sounds and looks delicious!