
If you like piña coladas and strawberry daiquiris (nah, we’re not belting out lines from "Escape [The Piña Colada Song]"), then you'll love the totally rad Miami Vice cocktail. Created in the '80s with a name that has a bit of a murky origin story, the vibrant drink emerged during a time of big hair, bright neon colors, and massive shoulder pads—we may be dating ourselves a bit here, but IYKYK. The cocktail combines two iconic frozen drinks for a summer cocktail that is the best of both worlds.
Okay, so like, what are you waiting for? Blend up a pitcher of this gnarly cocktail and prepare to be transported to the white sands of South Beach ('80s slang not required).
The piña colada:
Yes, you have to make two different cocktails, but never fear: We’ve simplified the recipes to minimize prep time. Some piña colada recipes call for frozen pineapple or fresh/canned pineapple that is then frozen. We opted against the extra freezing time, and sweetness levels can vary in fresh and frozen pineapple so we nixed that as well. Our solution? Frozen pineapple fruit bars—keeping the sweetness consistent and cutting down on prep time.
The strawberry daiquiri:
For the strawberry daiquiri, you generally need simple syrup and fresh lime juice. Here, we went with lime fruit bars and strawberry jam to shave off some time and boost flavor.
The best rum to use:
Both cocktails can sometimes call for different types of rum, but that felt totally bogus to us. We went with a lightly aged and filtered white rum because it works great in both drinks. It’s the most commonly used (think Bacardi Superior), and since it’s being blended into a frozen drink and not served neat, don’t break the bank on the top-shelf stuff. When purchasing, look for a filtered white rum that comes from one region (not a multi-region blend) and is aged 1 to 6 years.
Did you try making this? Let us know how it went in the comments!
Ingredients
Piña Colada
- 3 cups
ice
- 3
(2.45-oz.) frozen pineapple fruit bars or 1 c. pineapple sorbet
- 4 oz.
white rum
- 1/2 cup
cream of coconut
- 1/2 cup
pineapple juice
Kosher salt
Strawberry Daiquiri & Assembly
- 1
(1-lb.) bag frozen strawberries
- 8 oz.
fresh strawberries, hulled (about 2 c.), plus more for serving
- 2
(2.45-oz.) frozen lime fruit bars or 2/3 c. lime sorbet
- 4 oz.
white rum
- 1/2 cup
strawberry jam
Kosher salt
Fresh pineapple wedges and/or leaves, for serving
Directions
Piña Colada
In a blender, blend ice, pineapple fruit bars, rum, cream of coconut, pineapple juice, and a pinch of salt until smooth. Transfer cocktail to a pitcher and freeze until ready to use.
Strawberry Daiquiri & Assembly
- Step 1Rinse and dry blender. Blend frozen strawberries, fresh strawberries, lime fruit bars, rum, jam, and a pinch of salt until smooth.
- Step 2To serve, pour piña colada and daiquiri into glasses, either alternating flavors or stacking one over the other. Garnish with a pineapple wedge, fresh strawberry, and a couple of pineapple leaves.