Painkiller
A creamy, fruity rum drink with pineapple, orange and coconut, topped with freshly grated nutmeg.
Ingredients
- Dark rum60 ml
- Orange juice, freshly squeezed30 ml
- Pineapple juice100 ml
- Coconut cream30 ml
- Orange, to garnish (optional)1 wheel
- Pineapple, to garnish (optional)1 wedge
- Cocktail cherry, to garnish (optional)1 whole
- Nutmeg0.25 gratings
Method
- Fill a highball or hurricane glass with ice cubes or crushed ice.
- Put the rum, pineapple juice, orange juice and coconut cream in a shaker with plenty of ice.
- Shake hard for 10–20 seconds, until the drink is well chilled and a little frothy.
- Strain into the prepared glass over fresh ice.
- Grate plenty of fresh nutmeg over the drink and garnish, if you like, with an orange wheel, a pineapple wedge or a cocktail cherry.
Credit Soggy Dollar Bar, Jost Van Dyke, British Virgin Islands
About this drink
The Painkiller was born in the 1970s at the Soggy Dollar Bar on the tiny Caribbean island of Jost Van Dyke, where bartender Daphne Henderson mixed rum, juice and coconut cream for thirsty sailors. The name is now a trademark of Pusser's Rum, still regarded as the classic base. It is meant as a sunshine drink for the beach: sweeter and more spiced than a Piña Colada, but without the blender's icy slush.
Questions and answers
What is the difference between a Painkiller and a Piña Colada?
The Painkiller adds orange juice and a generous grating of fresh nutmeg to the Piña Colada's rum, pineapple and coconut base, giving it a more complex, spiced depth.
Which dark rum should you use for a Painkiller?
Traditionally Pusser's Rum, which the recipe comes from and which actually holds the trademark on the name. Any full-bodied dark rum gives a good result, though.
