Painkiller
Average
Fruity & Sweet
4 Minutes
Highball Glass
Ingredients
The Painkiller cocktail is a tiki-style rum drink, often compared to the Piña Colada with its rich coconut flavor.
Although the Painkiller cocktail boasts a complex flavor profile that’s sweet, tangy and fruity, it’s surprisingly easy to make, consisting of dark rum, fresh pineapple juice, cream of coconut, and fresh citrus juice.
How To Make a PAINKILLER COCKTAIL
Bar tools you’ll need
Jigger
Boston Shaker
Hawthorne Strainer
Citrus Elbow
How to Mix
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Fill a Boston shaker with ice cubes.
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Use a jigger (or measuring instrument) to measure and pour Navy Rum into the smaller tin of your Boston shaker.
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Measure and pour pineapple juice into the shaker.
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Measure and add cream of coconut into the shaker.
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Use a knife to cut an orange in half.
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Use a citrus elbow or citrus press to juice the orange, then measure and pour the orange juice into the shaker.
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Seal the shaker and shake vigorously until frosty on the outside.
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Fill a Tiki Mug or Highball Glass with ice cubes.
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Separate the shaker tins, place a Hawthorne strainer over the larger tin, then pour the cocktail into the glass.
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Garnish the edge of the glass with a pineapple wedge and float a maraschino cherry.
Watch how to make a Painkiller cocktail:
All about the Painkiller Cocktail
The Painkiller is a tiki-style cocktail made with navy rum, cream of coconut, pineapple juice, and orange juice. It’s shaken with ice and served in either a Tiki mug, highball glass or Collins glass.
Sweet, fruity and tangy – I think it’s one of the best tiki drinks around. The prominent flavor of pineapple perfectly blends with the sweet and indulgent taste of coconut.
The dark, rich, and molasses-like notes of navy rum give the drink its weight and complexity, while orange juice adds a fresh and juicy citrus twist.
The Painkiller cocktail was created in the 1970s at a bar on the island of Jost Van Dyke in the British Virgin Islands.
- Juice your fruits
Great drinks use great ingredients. It’s that simple. That means, no store-bought juice allowed. Grab some oranges, grab a pineapple and get juicing.To make pineapple juice, we recommend using a blender, while a citrus press or citrus elbow is perfect for juicing your oranges. Fresh juiced fruits always make a drink taste better. Check out our article on how to juice your fruits.
- Choose a ripe pineapple
The taste of pineapple should take center stage in a Painkiller, so you’ll want to choose a ripe and tasty pineapple.Pick a pineapple that’s golden-yellow. Give it a gentle squeeze – if it’s slightly soft and smells sweet, then chances are it’s a sweet and ripe pineapple perfect for your drink.
Additionally, a ripe pineapple will have leaves that can be easily plucked from the center.
- Passionfruit Painkiller
Swap the orange juice for fresh passion fruit purée using the same measurements. The rest of the cocktail recipe remains the same. Passion fruit adds a wonderful tartness to the drink. - Painkiller with white rum
Mix things up by swapping navy rum for white rum. Swapping out navy rum will change the entire flavor profile of your drink offering a lighter, subtler flavor. If you’re like me and you love coconut, try making a Painkiller with a white rum-based coconut spirit like Malibu.
- As a rule of thumb, we recommend serving any tiki drink in a Tiki mug. This applies to the Painkiller too. Don’t have a tiki mug? No problems – a Collins glass or highball glass will work well too.
Check out the essential cocktail glassware types. - A Painkiller is traditionally garnished with grated nutmeg. This little touch adds a wonderful aromatic and nutty complexity to an already deliciously complex drink.
- Being that the Painkiller is a tiki-style drink, garnishing your drink with a wedge of pineapple and a maraschino cherry is a must!
Painkiller cocktail FAQ
Navy rum is a strong, dark, and flavorful rum, traditionally a blend from former British colonies. It gets its name from the British Royal Navy’s historical rum ration and is known for its high proof, often 54.5% ABV, with notes of molasses, toffee, and spices.
Navy rum.
A Painkiller cocktail contains more ingredients and is, therefore, more complex than a Piña Colada. A Piña Colada uses light rum while a Painkiller uses dark navy rum.
A tiki cocktail is characterized by its tropical flavors, elaborate presentation, and use of rum as the primary spirit. These cocktails often include a mix of fruit juices, such as pineapple, lime, and orange, and are typically garnished with exotic touches like fresh tropical fruit, mint, or colorful umbrellas, served in mugs with Polynesian themes.
Tiki-style cocktails usually contain rum as the base spirit (often blending light and dark rum) and often include cream of coconut, sweet syrup and a mix of tropical fruits, such as pineapple, and citrus juices such as lime, and orange juice.
Yes, a Painkiller is a tiki cocktail made with navy rum, cream of coconut, pineapple juice, and orange juice.
